The Children's Bureau Legacy: Ensuring the Right to Childhood

Administration on Children, Youth and Families · The Children's Bureau · Administration for Children and Families · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Apr 2013 · Government Printing Office

About this ebook

Comprehensive history of the Children’s Bureau from 1912-2012 in eBook form that shares the legacy of this landmark agency that established the first Federal Government programs, research and social reform initiatives aimed to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families.  In addition to bios of agency heads and review of legislation and publications, this important book provides a critical look at the evolution of the Nation and its treatment of children as it covers often inspiring and sometimes heart-wrenching topics such as: child labor; the Orphan Trains, adoption and foster care;  infant and maternal mortality and childhood diseases; parenting, infant and child care education; the role of women's clubs and reformers;  child welfare standards; Aid to Dependent Children; Depression relief; children of migrants and minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans), including Indian Boarding Schools and Indian Adoption Program; disabled children care; children in wartime including support of military families and World War II refugee children; Juvenile delinquency;  early childhood education Head Start; family planning; child abuse and neglect; natural disaster recovery; and much more.

Child welfare and related professionals, legislators, educators, researchers and advocates, university school of social work faculty and staff, libraries, and others interested in social work related to children, youth and families, particularly topics such as preventing child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption will be interested in this comprehensive history of the Children's Bureau that has been funded by the U.S. Federal Government since 1912.

Ratings and reviews

Interesting Read. Well Done. Comprehensive. Well sited. Although we have a long way to go. Its 2013 and Child Abuse and Neglect is still at an all time high as well as drug induced gang killings of our children In major cities. Also, disparities still exist. Here we have a bases of history, practice and knowledge which begs our continual involvement for improvement while caring for Our Children and Families well into the future.

About the author

 The Children's Bureau is a 100-year-old Federal agency within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. The Bureau was created in 1912 “to investigate and report . . . upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people.” Since that time, the Children's Bureau has moved about within different Federal agencies, and many of its responsibilities were spun off to other, newer agencies. These changes have allowed the Bureau to narrow its focus to serving children and families involved across the entire continuum of child welfare services, from prevention of child maltreatment to foster care and adoption. Today, the Children's Bureau provides guidance, develops policy, collects national statistics, monitors State child welfare services, and oversees funding for a wealth of child welfare programs.