Perspectives in Child Care Policy

222 Pages·1997·9.995 MB·English

by  Lorraine Fox Harding

Perspectives in Child
Care Policy
Second Edition
Lorraine Fox Harding
PERSPECTIVES IN CHILD CARE POLICY
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Perspectives in
Child Care Policy
Lorraine Fox Harding
2nd Edition
First published 1991 by Pearson Education Limited
Second Edition 1997
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright© 1991, 1997, Taylor & Francis.
The right of Lorraine Fox Barding to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
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invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any informati011 stouge or re·
trieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this fiele! are constantly changing. As new rese.trch .md
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professi01ul
practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience .md knowl·
edge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments
described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of
their own safety and the safety of others, including parlies for whom they have a pro
fessional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither tlte Publisher nor tlte autltors, contributors, or
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matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of
any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
ISBN 13: 978-0-582-27684-0 (pbk)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Set by 8 in 10/11 Times
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CONTENTS
Preface viii
Foreword x
Chapter 1 The importance ofchildcare lawandpolicy 1
Chapter 2 Laissez-faireandpatriarchy 10
Chapter 3 State patemalismandchildprotection 40
Chapter4 The modem defenceofthebirthfamily and
parents' rights 70
Chapter5 Children's rightsandchild liberation 109
Chapter6 Convergencesanddivergences 157
Chapter7 Law,policyandpractice:an uneasysynthesis 171
References 189
FurtherReading 206
Index 207
PREFACE
In the firsteditionof this book, Isuggested that it would be very help
ful to those who, over the years, have struggled with the underlying
ethical issues which constantly arise in the practiceof child welfare. I
have no reason tochange my mind on reading the secondedition. The
authorhas updated and expandedher analysis inafast developingfield
of knowledge and argument. The result is a refreshing (and very
thorough) attempt to analyse objectivelyfour powerfulthemes which
recur in the analysis of policy - laissez-faire and patriarchy; state
paternalism and childprotection; the birthfamily and parents' rights,
and children'srights. Itwill be agodsend tostudents and teachers who
shouldnot be deterredby the unhelpful Harris and Timms critique to
which the author responds. But it will also be valued by those many
practitioners and managers who want to work on their underlyingphi
losophy ofchild care, toinform their discussion making and counteract
the arbitrary shiftsof emphasis to which we have been so prone since
the war.The next stage inthis unending processwillbeanexamination
of theimplicationsofthe raftof research, sponsoredbythe Department
of Health which appeared in 1995.
The authorpresumablybelieves in thepowerofreason. Indeed, aca
demics have toor wewould beoutofbusiness! Yetitisobservablethat
arguments concerning children in families rouse deep emotions. We
can all pointtoexamples ofliteraturein which feelings masquerade as
reason and in which one senses a powerful need to persuade readers
thatone sideof thestoryoffamilies isparamount. Adopters, foster par
ents, birth parents, children- each take their turn inbeing placed at the
top of the moral tree, tobe accordedspecial priority inlaw, policy and
practice. Even when child protection is afforded unequivocal priority,
hiddenidentificationwith parentalrights and needs can affectpractice
or there can be genuine doubt as to the extent to which specific chil
dren's needs are best met within their birth family. The shifts in
emphasis in the law, as the pendulum sways, illustratesthis vividly;
they both mirrorand inftuence publicopinion. The latestChildrenAct
will affect thedebate significantly.
We have to learn to live with the tension and ambivalence in this
sphere of social welfare policy, possiblymore affected by underlying
emotion than any other. Those who, as part of the management of
Preface ix
ambivalence, have the will to understand intellectually will benefit
greatlyfrom an appraisal ofthe different perspectives which thisbook
offers.Objectivity in the socialsciences is a phantasy but at least we
canexamine OUf underlying biases more rigorously with the hclp of
suchatext.
Olive Stevenson
ProfessorEmeritusofSocialWork Studies
UniversityofNotringharn
July 1996