Description:This book focuses on children's journeys through the care system, from voluntary admission into care, through complicated and often long court proceedings, in pursuit of Care or Freeing Orders. Problems that arise from taking cases through the courts are examined, together with tensions that may arise between judicial and social work decision-making. Content: Cover -- The Child's Journey Through Care -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- About the Contributors -- Preface -- Editor's Acknowledgements -- Part I The Need for a Good Start in Life: Attachment, Bonding, and Children's Rights -- 1 Introduction: An Overview of Children in Public Care -- Introduction -- Problems and Dilemmas with Fostering and Residential Care -- Looked-after Children in the United Kingdom -- Abuse of Children in Care -- The Purpose and Organisation of the Book -- References -- 2 Ordinary Children in Extraordinary Circumstances -- Introduction -- Children in Need -- Recent Child-development Thinking -- The Ecological Perspective -- Recognising the Uniqueness of Individual Children -- The Well-ness Approach -- Resilience and Strengths -- An Optimistic View of Child Development -- Children as Actors in their Own Development -- Aspects of Children's Development of Special Relevance to Looked-after Children -- Children's Attachments -- What Is Attachment? -- Children and Multiple Attachments -- Continuities and Discontinuities of Working Models -- The Impact of Loss on Children's Development -- Counteracting the Impact of Loss and Separation with Contact and Connectedness -- Attachments and Socio-genealogical Connectedness -- Counteracting the Impact of Separation with Stability -- A Permanency Planning Approach -- What Can Help Promote Children's Development in Practice? -- References -- 3 The Importance of Developing Emotional Bonds between Parents and Children -- Introduction -- What Is Bonding? -- Bonding and Attachment -- What Influences the Bonding Process? -- The Bonding Process and Care Careers -- Facilitating the Bonding Process for Alternative Care-providers -- Summary -- References -- 4 Children in Alternative Care: Are their Rights Being Met? -- Introduction -- Children's Rights -- Articles Associated with Alternative Care -- Processes Leading to Care Orders -- Care Orders -- Foster Care -- Residential Care -- Secure Accommodation -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgements -- Notes -- References -- Part II Pathways to Permanency -- 5 Outcomes of Long-term Foster Care: Young People's Views -- Introduction -- Improving Outcomes for Looked-after Children -- Outcomes of Long-term Foster Care -- Children's Rights and Researching Children's Views -- The Pathways and Outcomes Study -- Interviews with the Young People: Key Messages -- Implications for Policy and Practice -- Conclusion -- References -- 6 Kinship Care as a Route to Permanent Placement -- Introduction -- Children Cared For by the Kinship and Traditional Foster Parents -- The Placement of Children in Kinship Foster Care -- The Motivation of Kinship Carers -- Contact between the Children and their Birth-families -- Contact with Birth-fathers -- Kinship Foster Carers and Contact -- Relationship between Birth-mother and Fostering Household -- Care Plans -- Adoption -- Residence Orders -- Conclus. Abstract: This book focuses on children's journeys through the care system, from voluntary admission into care, through complicated and often long court proceedings, in pursuit of Care or Freeing Orders. Problems that arise from taking cases through the courts are examined, together with tensions that may arise between judicial and social work decision-making