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Charlotte Whitton (1896–1975) was a woman of enormous energy, personal ambition, and drive. She had essentially three careers: as a social worker who was the guiding force behind the ascendency of the Canadian Council on Child Welfare, as a journalist and campaigner on child welfare and other social service issues, and as a municipal politician who rose to be the first woman mayor of a major Canadian city.

Alfred Kadushin (1916–2014) was a distinguished practitioner and academic in the field of social work. Professor Kadushin was most significantly known for his scholastic contribution to the field of child welfare and in the areas of supervision and interviewing.

Chu-Sheng Yeh (1915–2008) promoted the well-being of children and youth in the areas of education, health, and social welfare. Professor Yeh established two programs related to social administration and social work for two universities. As a female scholar, she made a valuable contribution to the early stage of social work development in Taiwan.

The history and development of family preservation as a home-based service in social work practice is traced, current research is reviewed, and future practice trends and challenges are outlined in this entry. Family preservation services are described in terms of a philosophy of practice as well as a specified service model.

Lillian Catherine Milanof (1922–2015), Professor Emerita at Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville, has, as her heritage, a lifetime of accomplishments as an advocate for social justice.

Ann Wentworth Shyne (1914–1995) was a founding member of the influential Social Work Research Group, which promoted research on social work practice. Her work had a considerable impact on family and child welfare services and on social work research.

Janie Porter Barrett (1865–1948) was a noted African American child welfare reformer. In 1890, she founded the Locust Street Social Settlement, one of the first settlements for black people in the United States. She later established and became superintendent of Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls in 1915.

Social workers play a vital role in helping physically and sexually abused children. In order to play this role, they need knowledge about the nature of the problem: (1) legal definitions of physical and sexual abuse, (2) its incidence and prevalence, and (3) its signs and symptoms. Social workers have three major roles to play: (1) identifying and reporting child abuse to agencies mandated to intervene; (2) investigating and assessing children and families involved in child abuse; and (3) providing evidence-based interventions, both case management and treatment, to physically and sexually abused children.

Every year thousands of children are removed from their families and are placed into out-of-home care. While these children are placed in care settings with a hope of a better future, they are often faced with many challenges that impact their short and long terms growth. As of 2017, 442,995 children have been removed from their families and placed in the U.S. foster care system for an average of 20.1 months. Placement occurs for several reasons, such as neglect, parent incarceration, drug abuse, and caretakers’ inability to cope. Twenty-seven percent (117,110) have been in care over two years, and all of these children face many obstacles in life that can impact their short- and long-term well-being. One of the most significant challenges they face is access to a stable educational environment that supports positive mental, emotional, behavioral, physical, and social growth. Frequent moves, lack of coordination between schools, and underdeveloped infrastructure to support unique needs are some of the significant predictors of disproportionately poor education outcomes for children in foster care and other residential settings. The lack of stable educational environment leads to a number of challenges related to enrollment, stability, access to special services, peer relations, grade retention, and caregiver and teacher familiarity with academic strengths and weaknesses of the child. To improve their educational outcomes, there is a need for advocacy and significant changes at the at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Consistent efforts need to be made by stakeholders, such as state and federal government, schools, child welfare systems, and community partners to address systemic inequities, improve current policies and practices, increase accessibility to quality schools, provide mental health services, and, most importantly, establish a stable environment that will enable the youth to flourish and succeed.

Elizabeth Low Lucas (1895–1986), an advocate for children and the first Hawaiian woman to receive a professional education in social work, worked in Hawaii's Department of Social Welfare and was director of pupil guidance in the Department of Public Instruction.

All children require a safe and nurturing environment for optimal development. Child maltreatment is among the most serious societal problems, with severe behavioral, health, and economic costs. Preventing and responding to child maltreatment is therefore among the most critical services a society can provide. Child protection in the United States is handled by many agencies in a general sense, including law enforcement and health departments. The main agency tasked with protecting children is the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, which is charged with supporting the safety and well-being of children who may be at risk of child maltreatment. Child maltreatment is a common societal problem, with various national studies suggesting that up to a third of children may experience maltreatment before turning 18. CPS contacts about 4% of all children in the United States each year. Among children contacted, about one fifth are substantiated and a very small proportion of all children reported are placed in foster care. CPS serves poor persons at higher rates than wealthier persons, consistent with the higher need for protection faced by those under economic stress. Similarly, Black children are contacted by CPS at a rate almost twice that of White children, consistent with increased risks and stressors faced by that population, largely associated with historical and current racism, particularly as manifested in economic racial stratification. Child welfare practice innovations include, among other things, the increased use of “differential response” programs, in which situations presenting fewer safety risks are handled with less emphasis on investigation, and an increased awareness of the need for preventative services, including services aimed at supporting those under severe economic stress.

Social reform efforts of the settlement-house movement have provided, in part, the foundation for today’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s policies, programs, and services. Planning, implementing, and evaluating policies and programs that affect the health and well-being of mothers and children require a multidisciplinary approach. Social workers, whose skills encompass direct services, advocacy, planning and research, community development, and administration, have a critical role to play in improving the health outcomes of maternal and child populations.

Humans have markedly long periods of dependency; as such, care for one another—especially adults providing for children’s needs—is a necessity of survival. Most often, this necessary care is provided by immediate family members, and scholars and laypersons alike acknowledge parent–child relationships as foundational. While assumptions of biological connection permeate the ideology of family, not all (biological) parents of origin are able to provide care for (their) children. For hundreds of thousands of youths in the United States who are unable to safely live with their families of origin, the foster care system, of which foster families are a part, provides temporary residential care. Although youths require care, understandings of and within the foster care system are mixed. Indeed, children in care, caregivers (e.g., foster parents and families), families of origin, and caseworkers and judges carry varied perspectives and goals as well as report on diverse experiences and outcomes. Contributing to efforts to understand and address these variances, communication researchers have begun to examine the foster care system and those it involves and impacts, with research typically focusing on one or more arms of the foster square (i.e., children in care; parents of origin; foster parents and families; and the state via case workers, child welfare departments, judges, etc.). Communication scholars have implemented numerous theories to frame foster square- and foster care-related studies and have focused on varied relationships and experiences within the foster care system and foster families, providing helpful insights into the nuances of foster care. However, extant literature has illuminated avenues for potential future research to expand on the breadth and depth of knowledge surrounding foster care and the foster square and related experiences and relationships.

This entry focuses on the transition to independent living process required of youth and young adults who are “aging out” of the foster care system. It addresses the multiple risks and challenges faced by young people who are aging out of care and those of young adults who have “aged out.” This entry addresses existing policies and programs intended to assist youth who are transitioning from care. Current research findings about the experience of these youth over time both prior to and after exiting foster care are presented. Finally, the unique risks and challenges faced by as well as existing resources for LGBTQ youth who are in the process of or who have aged out are presented as an exemplar of unique needs and experiences of youth from vulnerable populations. Attention is also given to the strengths and resiliency of many former foster care youth who successfully make the transition from foster care to independent living.

John Joseph Kelso (March 31, 1864–September 30, 1935) was a young journalist when he became involved in child welfare in his adopted home of Toronto. He was instrumental in the passage of the first child protection legislation in Canada, and in spreading the need for voluntary children’s aid societies across Ontario and for similar legislation across Canada. He became superintendent of child welfare in 1893 and remained in that post for 40 years, shaping the development of the child welfare system in Ontario and Canada.

Unaccompanied children are immigrants under 18 years old without a parent or guardian at their time of arrival to their host countries. In the United States, the numbers of unaccompanied children arriving at the Southern border have steadily increased since 2012, with a record number arriving in 2023. Many unaccompanied children migrate to the United States to escape extreme poverty and community violence or to reunite with family members. Like other displaced populations, unaccompanied children are vulnerable to further violence and exploitation during their migration journeys and after their arrival to the United States. Yet this population is uniquely vulnerable, given their developmental needs and their often complicated health and mental-health challenges. The vast majority of unaccompanied children (98.9%) are placed with community sponsors, and follow-up about them is essentially impossible. A small number enter foster care under the auspices of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), through either the long-term foster care program or the unaccompanied refugee minors program. The foster care process and related policies have been put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children who require foster care in the United States. Research has analyzed key policies that affect unaccompanied children, ORR’s foster care system in the United States, and the placement process and well-being outcomes. Future policy should be developed in ways that protect the best interests of unaccompanied children in the context of rapidly changing circumstances related to global migration.

Racial disproportionality and disparities have been documented in the child welfare system in the United States since at least the 1960s, yet they persist as a national problem. This article provides an overview of the history of racial disproportionality and disparities in child welfare systems, the continuing presence of racial disproportionality and disparities, and the factors that contribute to racial disproportionality and disparities. The article concludes with strategies that have been developed over the years to address racial disproportionality and disparities, including calls for abolition of the child welfare system as a means of addressing these persistent problems.

Harriet Jakobsson (1926–2010) was an international social worker was active in three central areas: activities in the voluntary sector (NGOs), training of social workers, and her own practical work in the field. Her driving force has been to work for the best interests of the child and ensure the child’s rights in society. Curiosity, creativity, and perseverance characterized her professional life.

Odessa Sayles, MSW, was a leading advocate for adoption of Black children by Black families in Houston, Texas, during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. She was well known for dedicating her life to children and to uplifting the Black community. Serving as lead program director for foster care and adoptions for Harris County Protective Services for Children, she was steadfast in seeking culturally appropriate homes for children facing adoption.

Donald Everard Chambers (1929–2023) was an influential proponent of the systematic analysis of social policies and social programs. His personal life experiences and professional practice and education shaped his work. For example, he was born at the beginning of the Great Depression. Throughout childhood, he was mainly in the care of his mother, Ruth Swenson. Her work in human services led them to live in several Midwestern states in early childhood. She obtained a master’s in social work at New York University around 1938. Her subsequent work for United Service Organizations brought them to several other midwestern and western states, including California. During this period, Chambers gained experience living with people of various social classes impacted by economic hardship and World War II. He also learned to be flexible and adaptable to changing life circumstances and to challenge health and mental health inequities and injustices in social policies. Chambers obtained a BA degree at Stanford University in biology and psychology in 1950 and an MSW at the University of Nebraska in 1952. He was a social work practitioner for about 15 years in the fields of rural social work, mental health, and health in Nebraska, Idaho, and Iowa. Chambers attended Washington University’s Doctor of Social Work program, obtaining his degree in 1967. He was on the faculty of the University of Kansas from 1967 to 1996, where he taught graduate courses on social policy and program analysis. His research and service focused on issues of poverty, child welfare, and analysis of social programs and policies. In 1977–1978, he studied the British Workman’s Compensation system and social policy at the British Library in London. In 1990–1991, he studied child welfare and adoption in Central America as a Fulbright scholar. His most influential book was Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst.