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A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
Dave Pelzer's story is of a child beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. No longer considered a son, or a boy, but an 'it', Dave had to learn how to play these games in order to survive. His bed was an old army cot in the basement and when he was allowed food it was scraps from the dogs' bowl. Throughout, Dave kept alive the dream of finding a family who would love and care for him. This is an inspirational look at the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive despite the odds.
The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer
The harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of Dave's journey through the foster-care system in search of a family who will love him.
A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer
The gripping conclusion to this inspirational trilogy. With extraordinary generosity of spirit, Dave takes us on a journey into his past. At last he confronts his father and ultimately his mother. Finally, Dave finds the courage to break the chains of the past and learn to love, trust and live for the future.
My Story: A Child Called It', 'The Lost Boy', 'A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer
A CHILD CALLED 'IT': Dave Pelzer's story is of a child beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. No longer considered a son, or a boy, but an 'it', Dave had to learn how to play these games in order to survive. His bed was an old army cot in the basement and when he was allowed food it was scraps from the dogs' bowl. Throughout, Dave kept alive the dream of finding a family who would love and care for him. This is an inspirational look at the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive despite the odds. THE LOST BOY: The harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of Dave's journey through the foster-care system in search of a family who will love him. A MAN NAMED DAVE: The gripping conclusion to this inspirational trilogy. With extraordinary generosity of spirit, Dave takes us on a journey into his past. At last he confronts his father and ultimately his mother. Finally, Dave finds the courage to break the chains of the past and learn to love, trust and live for the future. -- source Amazon.com
Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being. In it, Hrdy reveals the motivations behind some of our most primal and hotly contested behavioral patterns--those concerning gender roles, mate choice, sex, reproduction, and parenting--and the ideas and institutions that have grown up around them. She unblinkingly examines and illuminates such difficult subjects as control of reproductive rights, infanticide, "mother love," and maternal ambition with its ever-contested companions: child care and the limits of maternal responsibility. Without ever denying personal accountability, she points out that many of the patterns of abuse and neglect that we see in cultures around the world (including, of course, our own) are neither unpredictable nor maladaptive in evolutionary terms. "Mother" Nature, as she points out, is not particularly concerned with what we call "morality." The philosophical and political implications of our own deeply-rooted behaviors are for us to determine--which can be done all the better with the kind of understanding gleaned from this exhaustive work. Hrdy's passion for this material is evident, and she is deeply aware of the personal stake she has here as a woman, a mother, and a professional. This highly accomplished author relies on her own extensive research background as well as the works of others in multiple disciplines (anthropology, primatology, sociobiology, psychology, and even literature). Despite the exhaustive documentation given to her conclusions (as witness the 140-plus-page notes and bibliography sections), the book unfolds in an exceptionally lucid, readable, and often humorous manner. It is a truly compelling read, highly recommended. --Katherine Ferguson, amazon.com
Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children by Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman is best known as the author of a series of best-selling suspense novels starring psychologist sleuth Dr. Alex Delaware, but his nonliterary background is as a children's clinical psychologist. In Savage Spawn, inspired by the schoolyard shootings that took place in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Springfield, Oregon, in 1998, he brings his training to bear on the question of how children can become cold-blooded killers. Kellerman has as much--perhaps more--to say about the broader issue of the nature of psychopathy, however, than he does about youth violence, though he does occasionally bring the two themes together. But Savage Spawn is essentially a hundred-page-plus op-ed piece rooted in Kellerman's belief that there are fundamentally bad people in the world and that the response to the perpetrators of violent acts such as the shooting at Jonesboro should be to "lock them up till they die." (Although published shortly after the multiple-death shooting in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, the book was clearly written before this incident took place.)--source amazon.com
Advocating for the Child in Protection Proceedings: A Handbook for Lawyers and Court Appointed Special Advocates by Donald N. Duquette
DESCRIPTION TO COME Help! If you have this book and would be willing to type the text from the front and back flaps for us, and even a short review, we would be most appreciative. Send to the webmaster. Thanks.
The Romance of Risk: Why Teenagers Do the Things They Do by Lynn E. Ponton, M.D.
An important book for teens, their parents, educators, and anyone else associated with the sometimes unfathomable adolescent years. Beginning with an explanation of healthy versus destructive behavior, Ponton makes it clear that taking risks is an important part of the developmental process. However, unhealthy or self-destructive risk taking is another matter, and teens must understand the causes of these behaviors in order to change them. In a series of case studies, the author/psychiatrist introduces teens she has counseled who exhibit a variety of dangerous behaviors, including running away, unprotected sex, self-mutilation, eating disorders, pregnancy, and bullying. Issues involved in the mother-son and father-daughter relationships are clearly explored. Divorce war dilemmas and their possible effects on a teen's actions are explained. The importance of familial influence, of the provision of healthy role models and open communication lines is ably demonstrated. Although adults will find this an illuminating book, it will appeal to as well. It is readable, the case studies use teens that come from various backgrounds and have different abilities, and the behaviors are clearly explained. Many adolescents are likely to find a deeper understanding of their own actions or those of their friends. Notes for each chapter provides access to additional reading on the subjects covered and the complete index makes research on a particular issue easy.-- source From School Library Journal
The Book of David: How Preserving Families Can Cost Children's Lives by Richard J. Gelles
Once an advocate of family preservation, Gelles now calls for a child-centered policy that first puts children out of harm's way. The tragedy of abused children who have been failed by child welfare agencies is made palpable in the case presented here, followed by a specialist in family violence. Gelles, director of the Family Violence Research Program at the University of Rhode Island, examines the brief life of David, who died of suffocation at 15 months-one of the many children killed by their parents in the U.S. each year. Though previously reported as an abused child whose older sibling had earlier been removed from the family, David was nonetheless allowed to remain with his biological parents. The author attacks this operating principle of social service agencies that claims children are better off with their own families than with other caregivers. It is his documented observation that the central mission of child welfare agencies-preserving families-does not work. In tracing the system's tragic failure to save a child, Gelles sounds a wake-up call to agencies to put children first and reassess the efficacy of family preservation programs. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--From Publishers Weekly
Good Kids, Difficult Behavior by Joyce Divinyi, M.S. L.P.C.
This book offers helpful advice for parents, teachers, and other professionals on how to deal with even the most discipline-resistant children and teens. Written by a psychotherapist with over 20 years' experience in the field, the book offers new approaches to working with children that will encourage appropriate behavior and a desire for personal success.
Parenting for Prevention: How to raise a child to say no to Alcohol & Drugs by Dr. David J. Wilmes
A valuable resource for parents who would like to teach their children the life skills that will keep them from getting involved with alcohol or other drugs. Offered free of charge from The Miller Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports educational programs for the prevention of the misuse of alcohol and other drugs.
Miss America by Day by Marilyn Van Derbur
The award-winning account of a young girl's sexual abuse at the hands of her father, the impact this had on her adult life, and her subsequent path to healing. The book was judged the "Most Inspirational Book" in the Writer's Digest national competition, received three awards from the Colorado Independent Publisher's Association, and the international "Media Award" from the International Society for the Study of Dissociation.
The Broken Cord by Michael Dorris
When Michael Dorris, 26, single, working on his doctorate, and part Indian himself, applied to adopt an Indian child, his request was speedily granted. He knew that his new three-year-old son, Adam, was badly developmentally disabled; but he believed in the power of nurture and love. This is the heartrending story, full of compassion and rage, of how his son grew up mentally retarded, a victim of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome whom no amount of love could make whole. The volume includes a short account of his own life by the 20-year-old Adam, and a foreword by Dorris' wife, the writer Louise Erdrich. The Broken Cord won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989.-- source amazon.com
I Speak for This Child: True Stories of a Child Advocate by Gay Courter
The author recounts her experiences as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children involved in the legal system. How Gay Courter (The Midwife) became a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed advocate for children caught up in the Florida justice system, is detailed with almost Dickensian touches of abuse and familial neglect in the lives of her charges. A serendipitous event led Courter to volunteer for this relatively new position in American justice. Inexperienced in the ways of the courts but fired with idealism and courage, Courter embarked on a mission to right wrongs for victimized children who fell between the cracks of foster care and the law. Here we follow her unflagging efforts to win the trust of her understandably wary clients, tireless travels through the maze of guardianship and, in one case, a hard-won victory in dismissal. No happy endings here: "most of them are in flux," reports Courter, whose heartwarming interventions should inspire others to volunteer in state judicial systems. Author tour. -- Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.—Publisher's Weekly
American Childhoods by Joseph E. Illick
An ideological challenge and an important contribution to the sparse scholarship on American childhood.— source American Historical Review
A Child's Journey Through Placement by Vera I. Fahlberg, MD
Professionals who work with children in foster care will find in this hefty volume the kind of clear, well organized, thorough approach to information that characterizes Fahlberg's workshops. Moreover, this book, like her previous one (Residential Treatment: A Tapestry of Many Therapies), contains such valuable information about the needs of children that it would prove beneficial to anyone--parent or professional--working with children, regardless of whether the children are at risk for psychological problems or not. -- source Adopted Child Magazine 07/92; Parents who want to help children build healthy attachments and self-esteem to minimize the risks associated with complex placement experiences will find this an important addition to their resources.-- source Ours Magazine
Ghost Girl by Torey L. Hayden
The true story of an educational psychologist's work with a child who has experienced severe trauma, possibly as a result of satanic ritual abuse. Hayden's classroom of emotionally disturbed children consists of Reuben, a boy suffering from autism; Philip, born to an addict mother and now in foster care; Jeremiah, a foul-mouthed fighter; and Jadie, a girl who never speaks and walks with such hunched posture that she appears to be doubled over. Through patience and determination, Hayden gains Jadie's confidence and gets her to speak, but with her conversation come tales of sexual abuse and ritual acts too horrifying to believe. When Hayden goes to the authorities, the community is reluctant to accept the possibility that Jadie is telling the truth. There are three explanations for her macabre and graphic disclosures: she is either a psychotic child beyond help, a victim of satanic rituals, or she has been used, along with her sisters, to make pornographic films. The conclusion is frustrating because readers never learn which of the three speculations is the truth. Hayden does tell us that today Jadie is a happy and functioning adult and that is some comfort. -- source School Library Journal
The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System by Youth Communication, Edited by Al Desetta
For the teens who contributed to this volume, the journey to adulthood has been particularly arduous, because they are all participants in the foster-care system. The 57 essays are divided into four sections. The first deals with the individual situations responsible for a child's placement in foster care. Next come pieces on living in that system. The third section deals with self-awareness and the last looks to the future. Some of the stories are told with humor, some with anger, and many with pain, but all resonate with unflinching honesty. Whether the teen is a runaway, an orphan to AIDS or drugs, or a victim of abuse, each has had to work through his or her own situation. What is clearly missing from all of the writings is any trace of self-pity, although many of the young people express regret or even remorse for their past lives. But a strong sense of individual purpose permeates the book and, according to the notes at the end of each essay, the contributors have been successful in turning their lives around. The problems and issues the writers express are universal, and their courage will touch the hearts of all.-- source School Library Journal
Just Another Kid by Torey L. Hayden
The true story of Torey Hayden's work with three children who have been traumatized by the horrors of war in Northern Ireland. A talented special education teacher with a gift for writing, Hayden dramatically describes the difficulties and joys of working with a small group of severely emotionally handicapped children. The centerpiece of this tale, though, is Ladbrook Taylor, mother of one of the children. Lad is very beautiful, very wealthy, highly educated, yet emotionally fractured, withdrawn, and alcoholic. She joins Hayden in the classroom as a volunteer aide. This potentially explosive situation gradually leads to a deepening relationship between the two women that ultimately allows Hayden to help Lad. In the process, Lad reveals her startling past, containing buckets of melodrama, easily on par with the juciest TV soaps. Riveting reading. -- source Library Journal
Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed by Stephen O’Connor
A powerful blend of history, biography, and adventure, ORPHAN TRAINS fills a grievous gap in the American story. Tracing the evolution of the Children"s Aid Society, this dramatic narrative tells the fascinating tale of one of the most famous — and sometimes infamous — child welfare programs: the orphan trains, which spirited away some 250,000 abandoned children into the homes of rural families in the Midwest. In mid-nineteenth-century New York, vagrant children, whether orphans or runaways, filled the streets. The city"s solution for years had been to sweep these children into prisons or almshouses. But a young minister named Charles Loring Brace took a different tack. With the creation of the Children"s Aid Society in 1853, he provided homeless youngsters with shelter, education, and, for many, a new family out west. The family matching process was haphazard, to say the least: at town meetings, farming families took their pick of the orphan train riders. Some youngsters, such as James Brady, who became governor of Alaska, found loving homes, while others, such as Charley Miller, who shot two boys on a train in Wyoming, saw no end to their misery. Complete with extraordinary photographs and deeply moving stories, Orphan Trains gives invaluable insights into a creative genius whose pioneering, if controversial, efforts inform child rescue work today.-- source amazon.com
A Kind and Just Parent : The Children of Juvenile Court by William Ayers
William Ayers brings a reporter's eye and an activist's heart to this well-written and profoundly disturbing book, A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court. Ayers, who teaches offenders in Chicago's juvenile court system, is a brilliant storyteller, the damning fly on the wall. His book portrays the lives of his students--both within the juvenile temporary detention center and on the "outside." Ayers puts their stories into historical context; argues passionately about the roles of media, poverty, and neglect; refutes the idea of teenager as "superpredator"; and challenges parents--all of us--to ask the question, "Is this good enough for my child?" when determining the standard to use when we think of justice for kids.-- source amazon.com
No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court by Edward Humes
This is one powerful book: it will grab you with vivid stories about individual kids, draw you in with honesty and compassion, and amaze you with alarming details about how the juvenile justice system works (or rather, doesn't work) in America. Anyone interested in the problem of crime should read Edward Humes's gripping account of how future criminals are shaped in youth, and how the system misses its chance to help them before they're lost for good. As Richard Bernstein writes in the New York Times, "There are many admirable things about Mr. Humes's book, which, despite its grim subject matter, has a narrative power that keeps you reading right to the end. One of them is that Mr. Humes is a shrewd and perceptive observer of his young subjects ... [and he] allows himself to feel sympathy for the young people whose lives and crimes he describes.... At the same time, Mr. Humes never exonerates bad children for their badness." No Matter How Loud I Shout was a finalist for the 1997 Edgar Award in Fact Crime.-- source amazon.com
Nobody’s Children: Abuse and Neglect, Foster Drift, and the Adoption Alternative by Elizabeth Bartholet
The book's jacket calls this an "intense look at child welfare policies on abuse and neglect." Precisely. Bartholet's subject is too weighty for casual reading and cannot be easily digested, but it does not falter in its criticisms of American child welfare policy. Examining legislation from all parts of the United States, Bartholet questions why "family preservation ideology still reigns supreme when children rather than adult women are involved." The reader is left with a multitude of questions and concerns about the way U.S. adoption policy is currently working, questions that are catalysts for invoking the changes that Bartholet espouses. Clear and consistent, this is recommended for public and academic libraries. A Sheila Devaney, North Carolina State Univ. Libs., Raleigh , Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.-- Library Journal
Orphans of the Living : Stories of America's Children in Foster Care by Jennifer Toth
Toth has wisely put a human face on the child welfare system's carnage--from Damien, a rape victim at age 8 who becomes a sexual predator by age 13, to Bryan, who struggles to benefit from one of the country's best foster programs--Toth's subjects are as heartbreaking as their success is improbable.
The Prodigal Father: Reuniting Fathers and Their Children by Mark Bryan
In The Prodigal Father, Mark Bryan addresses this important social issue by offering a proven program to help fathers assume a vital role in their children's lives. Bryan has put together an admirable package of anecdote and action to get the men who are among divorce's victims moving to heal themselves and their broken relationships. The director of the Father Project and affiliated family research projects at Harvard, Bryan knows the terrain. He married and divorced at a young age; his own odyssey of making things right with his son is powerful and moving. Through his work with other fathers, he has expanded the boundaries of his experience, and here he writes powerfully of men's diminished role in our society's increasingly one-parent families. While acknowledging the difficult underlying causes of family breakup, Bryan urges positive action. Toward that end, the book provides exercises and guidance in soul-searching and corrective action for fathers wanting to build bridges to their children and even the divorced spouse. With reunion and respect the goals, Bryan has provided a valuable manual, written from the trenches.?David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston; Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc., Library Journal
Sexual Abuse in America: The Epidemic of the 21st Century by Euan Bear (Editor), Robert E. Freeman-Longo, Suzanne M. Sgroi, Geral T. Blanchard
DESCRIPTION TO COME Help! If you have this book and would be willing to type the information from the front & back flaps of the book, and maybe even a review, we would be most appreciative. Send to webmaster. Thanks.
Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol
Alicea and Kozol paint a vivid portrait of life in one of America's most impoverished neighborhoods, New York City's South Bronx. While telling similar stories, each narrative has its own unique flavor and characteristics that reveal the crushing nature of poverty in America and recount the lives of those who rise above it. Kozol (Savage Inequalities, LJ 9/15/91) describes a neighborhood ravaged by drugs, violence, hunger, AIDS, and antipathy but also one where children defy all the stereotypes. In the South Bronx, where the median income is $7600 a year and everything breaks down, Kozol reveals that the one thing that has remained resilient is the children. One of the resident children is 15-year-old Alicea, who saw his mother and sister succumb to AIDS, a father incarcerated in prison, and friends entrapped by drugs or violence. Like that of many children, his story is a life of options or despair. The path they pursue is dependent on government leadership. Both books should be required reading for policymakers and those concerned with the plight of the American poor.?Michael A. Lutes, Univ. of Notre Dame Lib., Ind. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.—Library Journal
Somebody Else's Children: The Courts, the Kids, and the Struggle to Save America's Troubled Families by John Hubner and Jill Wolfson
An intriguing and disturbing look at the inner workings of the U.S. family court system draws on interviews with parents, foster parents, social workers, and legal professionals to provide a revealing glimpse of the courts that often fail to protect America's threatened children.
Solomon's Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away by Michael Shapiro
In an important and heartrending critique of the child welfare system, Shapiro focuses on two thorny cases. The first involves Gina Pellegrino, a New Haven, Conn., cashier and single teen mother who abandoned her newborn daughter in a hospital in 1991. The state assigned the baby, Megan, to Cynthia and Jerry LaFlamme, but four months later Gina decided she wanted to reclaim her daughter. In the protracted legal battle that ensued, Connecticut's Supreme Court gave Megan back to Gina, while the state awarded the LaFlammes $27,000 to adopt an orphaned child from Russia. In his nuanced narrative, Shapiro, an assistant professor at Columbia University's Journalism School, condemns the court's decision as disruptive to Megan and unfair to the LaFlammes. The second case involves the five unemployed, uneducated Melton sisters (three of them drug addicted), who were raising 17 children on public assistance in a two-bedroom Chicago apartment the judge described as a "cesspool." In 1994, a criminal court found the Meltons guilty of child neglect; one sister went to prison; two were sent to residential drug treatment centers; the children were split up among relatives, adoptive and foster homes. Shapiro believes that instead of taking an adversarial stance, the court should have encouraged the Meltons to remain part of their children's lives. As an example of the community-based approach he favors, he profiles the Center for Family Life, a Brooklyn, N.Y., agency run by two nuns and 25 social workers. Author tour. (June) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.—Publisher's Weekly
Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt Paperback
McCourt is the eldest of eight children born to Angela Sheehan and Malachy McCourt in the 1920s. The McCourts began their family in poverty in Brooklyn, yet when Angela slipped into depression after the death of her only daughter (four of eight children survived), the family reversed the tide of emigration and returned to Ireland, living on public assistance in Limerick. McCourt's story is laced with the pain of extreme poverty, aggravated by an alcoholic father who abandoned the family during World War II. Given the burdens of grief and starvation, it's a tribute to his skill that he can serve the reader a tale of love, some sadness, but at least as much laughter as the McCourts' "Yankee" children knew growing up in the streets of Limerick. His story, almost impossible to put down, may well become a classic. A wonderful book; strongly recommended for readers of any age. -Robert Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals, Framingham, Mass. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.—Library Journal
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt Hard Cover
See above.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt DVD
See above. Movie adaptation.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of success. In this fascinating book, based on brain and behavioral research, Daniel Goleman argues that our IQ-idolizing view of intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for "emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships. Because emotional intelligence isn't fixed at birth, Goleman outlines how adults as well as parents of young children can sow the seeds. --source Amazon.com
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
When a woman murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life, her daughter must navigate a new reality--that of a series of foster homes, each its own universe, each with its own limits and dangers. This novel will surely be hailed as one of the best novels of the year and is likely the best debut this reviewer has ever read. When beautiful, egotistical poet Ingrid murders the lover who dumped her, 12-year-old daughter Astrid descends into the hells of foster care, where she is sustained only by a fierce intelligence and great artistic talent. Shot and left for dead by her first mother, half-starved in a mansion by another, turned into a drudge by a racist, she nearly finds happiness and mutual love with Ron and Claire; but then Claire kills herself. Shopping with them, Ingrid wonders who would want a black (Christmas) tree, but I knew someone woulda belated Halloween, to decorate with plastic skullsor just for the pleasure of making their kids cry. Heartbreaking, but without a trace of sentimentality, this novel provokes amazement that children like Astrid can emerge whole and capable after what we know are even worse childhoods than hers. Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY; Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.—Library Journal
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
Lia Lee was born in 1981 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, overmedication, and culture clash: "What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the Hmong viewed as frosty arrogance." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, written with the deepest of human feeling. Sherwin Nuland said of the account, "There are no villains in Fadiman's tale, just as there are no heroes. People are presented as she saw them, in their humility and their frailty--and their nobility."-- source Amazon.com
Lost Boys: Why our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them James Garbarino, Ph.D.
The school murder sprees of 1997-98 provide a backdrop for this inquiry into an "epidemic" of youthful male violence that has been worsening over the past 25 years. The bulk of the book is devoted to an analysis of the roots and meaning of lethal violence as revealed through interviews with perpetrators. Garbarino (human development, Cornell Univ.; Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment, Jossey-Bass, 1995) discusses these narratives in the context of statistical and psychological/ psychiatric research. Causative factors like abuse, gangs and codes of honor, substance abuse, neurological deficits, and school problems are considered from a social ecology perspective grounded in the work of Garbarino's mentor, Urie Bronfenbrenner. The book concludes with a catalog of strategies to combat boyhood violence. Solutions call for spiritual literacy as well as government action and research-based programs. Readable yet well documented and brimming with ideas, this book is recommended for larger public libraries and public policy collections. Antoinette Brinkman, Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville ; Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.-- Library Journal
Building The Bonds of Attachment; Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children by Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D
Excerpted from a review from Sonoma CASA Spring 2005 Newsletter: "As I finished with this very readable book, I felt that I had gained some very practical insight into the mystifying disruptive behaviors we so often see in the children we are trying to help. As a CASA, I’ve personally struggled with my own disappointment and confusion when seemingly “perfect” situations are blown apart by an explosive reaction by my child. In telling the fictional story of one little girl, this book explains the roots of these behaviors, details the baffling group of behaviors that result, discusses the meanings of these actions, and most importantly, describes a course of treatment that can help these kids try to open their hearts to a loving, attached future. This book is written like a novel. It intertwines the stories of the child Katie, the CSW, the biological parents, the foster parents and the therapist. Aside from my interest as a CASA in the general topic of attachment, I really wanted to keep reading just to find out what would happen to each person in the story. I really liked that at the end of each chapter, the author speaks in his own voice to amplify the ideas illustrated in the story. He also includes a very detailed section at the end of the book entitled “Principles of Parenting and Therapy” and Appendices addressing specific patterns and guidelines for treatment. As I read, I remembered real life CASA episodes that related so closely to Katie’s story. Had I read this book earlier in my CASA career, I might have been able to be a more helpful advocate and friend. I highly recommend it to all CASAs!"
Wasted: The Plight of America's Unwanted Children by Patrick T. Murphy
Patrick Murphy is the Public Guardian of Cook County Illinois and a nationally known children's advocate. "Short and pungent, designed to be controversial, here's a blow at the child protection system from a knight who's been in the fray a long time and knows the enemy". -- Kirkus Reviews Murphy writes on a topic he knows thoroughly. After 30 years in various capacities as an advocate for abused and neglected children (he is currently the public guardian of Cook County, Illinois), he has seen it all. None of it is very pretty. Murphy has no illusions about our present welfare and children's services systems, offering an earthy inside view of why these systems aren't working and providing anecdotal proof of the failures. He feels our efforts are being misdirected in preserving families. Some families can't and shouldn't be preserved. Murphy states, "In the present system, the parent's victim status becomes more important than the child's neglect." He offers solutions, but will they be enough? For all social science collections. [For another view on family preservation, see Marianne Berry's The Family at Risk: Issues and Trends in Family Preservation Services, LJ 8/97.?Ed.]?Sandra Isaacson, U.S. EPA Region VII Lib., Kansas City, Kan.; Sandra Isaacson, U.S. EPA Region VII Lib., Kansas City, Kan.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--Library Journal
On Their Own: What happens to kids when they age out of the foster care system by Martha Shirk & Gary Stangler
For most young people, crossing the threshold from adolescence into adulthood is an angst filled journey that can take years to complete, and requires the guidance and support of caring adults. But for some children, there is a deadline past which no guidance, support, or supervision is available. Each year, as many as 25,000 teenagers "age out" of foster care, usually when they turn eighteen. For most of their lives, a government agency had made every important decision for them. Suddenly they are entirely alone, with no one to count on. What does it mean to be eighteen and on your own, without the family support and personal connections that most young people rely on? For many youth it means largely unhappy endings, including sudden homelessness, unemployment, dead-end jobs, loneliness and despair, On Their Own tells the compelling stories of ten young people whose lives are full of promise, but who face economic and social barriers stemming from the disruptions of foster care. For other youth, proper preparation for adulthood and support from caring adults helps them develop the resiliency and skills needed for success. Reporter Martha Shirk and long-time children's advocate Gary Stangler do more than document the struggles of these young men and women. They call for action to provide youth in foster care the same opportunities on the road to adulthood that most of our youth take for granted . access to higher education, vocational training, medical care, housing, and relationships within their communities. As President Jimmy Carter writes in his Foreword: .The question we should ask ourselves is this: if we willingly give our own children the benefit of our support as they struggle to become independent, productive adults, why do we tolerate the abrupt withdrawal of support for youth who are aging out of care?. Martha Stark spent twenty-three years as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she wrote extensively about children's issues. She lives in Palo Alto, California. Gary Stangler is executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and served as director of the Missouri Department of Social Services from 1989 to 2000. He lives near Columbia, Missouri.
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