The quality of the assessment of children in need has a significant impact on outcomes for the children concerned. Good assessment contributes to better outcomes, but poor assessment can have tragic consequences. Understanding what makes a good assessment is vital.This book brings together findings from 10 years of UK research that shed light on different aspects of child and family assessment, and examines the evidence for what works in promoting the best outcomes for children. It...

This definitive textbook provides accessible information on best practice for assessing the needs and strengths of vulnerable children and their families. It explores the challenges that practitioners face routinely - with suggestions as to how to address them - as well as the established areas for assessment, of children's developmental needs, parenting ability and motivation, and socio-economic factors.This new edition has been extended substantially to include recent practice, p...

Cathy Glass, the no.1 bestselling author of Damaged, tells the story of the Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother.Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother snatches her from her parents' house and disappears.Cathy spends three anxious days worrying about her whereabouts before Alice is found s...

‘Punished’ is the inspiring true story of an unusual little girl, Vanessa, whose childhood was devastated by torture and abuse at the hands of her sadistic mother. Vanessa was nearly destroyed until she discovered a secret that ultimately saved her life.From the age of 3, Vanessa lived in daily terror of her mother's unpredictable rage. If she was 'naughty', her mother would lash out at her – with beatings, torture, starvation and making Vanessa sleep in their garden's pigsty, tied...

Jimmy Holland was born into a family suffering at the hands of their drunk and abusive father. At the age of just two weeks, he was placed into care. The beginning of a life lived in a constantly changing environment of homes, authorities and institutions began. Let down and frequently abused, it wasn't long before Jimmy strayed onto the wrong side of the tracks. Before long, the mould for a problem child was set. He quickly turned from substance abuse to drug use and, in turn, to crime - ...

The shocking story of a young girl forced into prostitution by her own father, and her painful journey to escape her horrific childhood and build a new life for herself and her sons.Maria's dad was a pimp, living in a world of thieves and street-walkers. Her mother, tiring of turning tricks for her husband, walked out, leaving the children in his chaotic, violent and sometimes cruel care. By the age of nine, Maria's father was abusing her and getting a prostitute friend to dress he...

Kenneth and Patrick Doyle grew up in a family of nine children in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.Though the home was dysfunctional and all the children suffered at the hands of their parents, Kenneth and Patrick were singled out for horrific abuse at the hands of their mother.Starved, beaten and sent out to steal, their story is a catalogue of abuse. It also implicates the authorities, who had pages upon pages of reports on their situation, and yet never stepped in.

Shane Dunphy was involved in social care for fifteen years. This book is a distillation of some of the cases he encountered in that time into a single, year-long narrative. In spite of the narrative's compression, and allowing for the necessary change of identifying details, everything in this book is true. And what the truth reveals! Here are the cases of three dysfunctional families, struggling at the margins of a society that barely acknowledges their existence. This is a portrait of fa...

"A book of rare power, passion, and intelligence. Travel with Lori into the heart of schizophrenia, and you will never be the same." —Diane Sawyer, award-winning television news anchorMoving, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting, Lori Schiller's memoir is a classic testimony to the ravages of mental illness and the power of perseverance and courage.At seventeen Lori Schiller was the perfect child—the only daughter of an affluent, close-knit family. Six years l...

Sophie Young tells her shocking true story in Please Will Someone Help Me?Sophie Young was born into a dysfunctional family, with a violent mother and father. Sophie was routinely neglected and harmed, starved and left to fend for herself. Social workers were often involved but, despite numerous visits and extensive reports, nothing was ever done.When Sophie was six, her life took another horrible turn: her adored grandfather began to sexually abuse her....

In 1995, Sophia McColgan's father was sentenced to prison for the serial rape and abuse of his children over many years. He had first raped Sophia when she was only six. It had taken immense courage on the part of Sophia and her family to bring the murky, hidden world of family child abuse to the public gaze. Then, in 1998, Susan McKay published Sophia's Story, one of the most acclaimed Irish books of modern times. Now re-issued with a new introduction by Susan McKay, it records a triumph ...

Discover the incredible memoirs of internationally bestselling author Cathy Glass with this free extended eBook sample of I Miss Mummy, the story of Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother.Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother snatches her from her parents' house and disappears.Cathy spends ...