Child Welfare Services Today: An Overview and Some Questions

The field of child welfare is distinguished by the multiplicity and variety of programs it encompasses. These develop at very different rates and are offered under many widely differing auspices, both public and private. Co-operation and communication are both feasible and desirable, but too close a co-operation has disadvantages. Attempts have been made to distinguish public and private functions. These have been attended by some success and also by some unresolved questions. The basic philosophy of the field has never been clarified, and trends toward both family-centered work and child-centered work are observable. The problem is com plicated by the too frequent assumption that children's "rights" and parents' "rights" are of the same nature and that one must choose between them. The question has implications for society, for the training of practitioners, and for practice itself. A major need in the field is the clarification at law of the rights and responsibilities of parents, children, and agencies.