bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Medical Factor in Christian Conversion in Africa: Observations from Southeastern Nigeria
Authors: Ekechi Felix K.
Published: March 2013

This article discusses missionary recruitment strategies from the perspective of missionary medical work in southeastern Nigeria. In other words, it examines missionary use of medical services as the bait to catch converts. Furthermore, the essay discusses the link between disease, missionary medicine, and Christian conversion. Attention is given to the role of culture in the conversion process, as well as to the impact of missionary and colonial medical services on African health care systems. The study is based largely on archival mission sources, including Catholic and Protestant archival materials collected from missionary societies in England, France, Rome, and Nigeria. Finally, it looks at the Catholic and Protestant struggle for dominance via the provision of medical services, and the persistence of traditional African health care systems despite missionary and colonial iconoclastic tendencies.
The World's Parliament of Religions Revisited: The Missionaries and Early Steps in Public Dialogue
Authors: Goodpasture H. McKennie
Published: March 2013

This year marks the centennial of the World's Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. That remarkable event brought together nearly two hundred religious leaders and scholars from all the major religions of the world. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others gave major addresses about their various religions to audiences of thousands of people. Among those invited to speak were 13 Christian missionaries, who spoke about their witness in relation to other religions, about the need for more unity among Christians, about legislation in America discriminating against the Chinese, and other matters. This article analyzes those 13 addresses and finds some surprises.
Mosaics and Melting Pots in Motion: Reading and Responding to New Times
Authors: Bibby Reginald W.
Published: March 2013

As the world's two leading recipients of people from other countries, the United States and Canada have had to develop policies that are responsive to their growing cultural diversity. While the United States historically has adopted an assimilationist, melting pot approach, Canada has chosen a very different path. Since the 1960s, America's northern neighbor has been involved in an interesting and fairly unique cultural experiment. Assimiliation has been rejected in favor of pluralism, the melting pot spurned in favor of multiculturalism. The experiment is worth watching, especially in view of the fact that the worldwide resurgence of ethnic loyalities is forcing other countries, including the United States, to consider a range of pluralistic possibilities. The author examines the outcome to date of the Canadian multicultural experiment, including some of the direct consequences for religion. He concludes with a discussion of the implications of what has been happening in Canada for other countries, notably the United States.
“Conic” Christianity and “Donut” Japan
Authors: Fujita Neil S.
Published: March 2013

The quasi-religious mentality of the Japanese, Japanism, and its role as a major obstacle for Christian missions in Japan are explored. Japanism is characterized as “donut” in shape with power circulating throughout the system without any central source of authority. This stands in contrast to the religious tradition of the Christian West which is portrayed as “conic” in form with authority centered in and controlling power emanating from one absolute monarchical God. Given the contemporary religious, cultural, and economical encounters between Japan and the Western world, the importance of reconsidering both of these patterns is emphasized.
Defining the Center—Finding the Boundaries: The Challenge of Re-Visioning the Church in North America for the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Van Gelder Craig
Published: March 2013

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are experiencing a shift in North American culture that requires the church to think of North America as mission field. The thesis of this article is that the church will need to develop a new paradigm of mission to accomplish this. This article identifies 18 issues which such a paradigm of mission will need to address. These issues are discussed in terms of three aspects: (1) the context in which we live, (2) the gospel we seek to proclaim, and (3) the church which seeks to proclaim this gospel.
You Should Dance on One Foot: The Saramaccans and Wisdom Literature
Authors: Rountree Catherine
Published: March 2013

All people seek wisdom to explain and cope with life. Many of them preserve their ‘wisdom’ in maxims which they use extensively in their formal and informal speech. They are very important teaching tools which cannot be ignored by those who are seeking to teach them the message of God. But simply memorizing them and using them here and there is not enough. In fact, it could be detrimental. Therefore, careful study of the maxims and the context in which they are used is necessary. And if they are mastered, they are very effective for teaching. Translating the Wisdom Literature of the Bible or composing new maxims to teach biblical truths presents further problems. This paper addresses the problems of translating, composing, and using maxims cross-culturally.
A New Solution to the African Christian Problem
Authors: Kailing Joel B.
Published: March 2013

The tension between the traditional African worldview and that of missionary Christianity has long been recognized. In this article, drawn from research in Nigeria, this tension is defined as the African Christian problem and three competing varieties of Christianity are presented as potential solutions. The first two, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, are criticized for their failure to provide a satisfying resolution for the problem. Attention is thus focused upon pentecostal evangelicalism, which offers a new and distinct approach. The major characteristics of this approach are discussed and an example provided to illustrate its impact upon the continuing development of Nigerian Christianity.
Territorial Spirits Reconsidered
Authors: Greenlee David
Published: March 2013

Throughout history various peoples have perceived a territorial nature in the spirit realm. The Christian must be aware of the difference in phenomenological reality and biblically-granted ontological reality of such spirits. The two do not always agree. Territoriality of spirits has been observed to cease due to a variety of causes, generally linked to the cessation of their veneration. Christians must keep their focus on Christ and not on the control of spirits.
Images of Church and Mission: The China Case
Authors: Carroll Janet
Published: March 2013

This paper relies largely on perspectives from the Catholic tradition and considers how the Chinese Christians can take their place in the universal communion of an emerging world church.

Beginning in the 1980s, Chinese Christians have had a new window of opportunity to incarnate authentically their faith and to contextualize fully the gospel in their own social and cultural context. They face a crisis—an opportunity fraught with risks—to seize the moment for a prophetic proclamation of the gospel in the face of rampant materialism, fragmenting secularization, and the “modernization” frenzy.

The irrepressibility of Chinese Christians who have endured decades of repression and outright persecution is a courageous witness of hope for a new tomorrow.
Elements of Protestant Accommodation to Korean Religious Culture: A Personal Ethnographic Perspective
Authors: Grayson James H.
Published: March 2013

The structure and form of contemporary Korean Protestantism gives the initial impression to the outsider that there is a radical disjuncture between Christian faith and Korean culture. Korean Protestantism would appear to have made no accommodation to the religious or philosophical aspects of Korean culture. The author argues that although he had originally held to this view, further reflection on the dynamics of the relationship between Christianity and Korean culture convinced him that there has been a very profound degree of accommodation can be shown to exist on three different levels of culture—the behavioral level, the ritual level, and the level of faith. Likewise, this process of accommodation can be shown to have both positive and negative aspects. For example, the Christian memorial service for the deceased members of one's family can be shown to be a positive accommodation to a perceived need in Korean culture. However, the idea that faith in God is primarily for the material blessings which will be bestowed on the believer can be said to be a negative aspect of Protestant accommodation.
What Catholics Can Learn from Evangelical Mission Theology
Authors: Bevans Stephen B.
Published: March 2013

Catholics can learn a considerable amount from evangelical mission theology. This article first reflects on what Catholics can learn in general, and then singles out three particular areas in which Catholics can profit from a study of evangelical thinking about mission. While Catholics and evangelicals have several basic disagreements, Catholics can learn from evangelicals' insistence on (1) the missionary nature of Christian existence, (2) the centrality of evangelism in missionary activity, and (3) the resistance of the “powers” to the gospel.
The Poor and the Lost: A Holistic View of Poverty
Authors: Brandt Donald P.
Published: March 2013

Christian development agencies often purport to work with the physically and spiritually poor. Do they? To answer this question, several measures of poverty are combined into two indices to better define “the poor.” World maps and a scatter plot are used to show physical and spiritual poverty. The question is then answered for one Christian development agency. World Vision International.

The paper concludes with implications for mission. What does presenting the gospel mean in a world in which the physically poor are often the most spiritually impoverished? Now add restrictions to speech, especially in Muslim countries, where the verbal gospel is unwelcomed. In such situations, holistic practitioners would seem to be the messengers of the hour.
The Current Status of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Wiest Jean-Paul
Published: March 2013

Opposing news items about Christian churches in the People's Republic of China (PRC) are almost a daily fare. One article might speak of renewed religious fervor and the growth of churches, while the next one might tell of persecutions and arrests. The Catholic Church in China is symptomatic of this seemingly puzzling and precarious situation. This presentation briefly considers changes in the official policy of the central government toward religion and the variations in application at the local level. Then, it focuses on the divided Chinese Catholic Church and its relationship with the Holy See and the other local churches. Lingering obstacles as well as signs of healing are discussed.
Christian Ministry of Healing on its Way to the Year 2000: An Archaeology of Medical Missions
Authors: Jansen Gerard
Published: March 2013

Taking stock of the values and experiences accumulated in the history of medical mission is essential before entering a new millennium. This article offers a terse account of the development of the medical missionary movement viewed from the point of indigenization. In this end phrase of the classic medical mission, the new concept of mission in six continents has not yet been thought through for the new era of the Christian ministry of healing. An archaeology of medical missions has to be attempted in order to determine which values are worthy for transportation to a new millennium.
Missions and Churches in Partnership for Evangelism: A Study of the Declaration of Ibadan
Authors: Collins Travis
Published: March 2013

Partnership between missions (the organizations of expatriate missionaries working under a common sending agency in a particular locale) and national churches (the cooperating bodies of national Christians to which the missions relate, called “conventions/unions” in this article) has emerged as a critical issue in world evangelization. One attempt at just and effective partnerships between missions and conventions/unions is the Declaration of Ibadan. Its engaging features include the proposed role of the mission, joint decision making regarding evangelism among unreached people groups, and the deployment of missionary personnel.

This article is a reflection on the proposals set forth in the Ibadan Declaration with particular reference to their implications for evangelism.
Music and Gift-Exchange: Steps to the Inculturation of the Gospel
Authors: Gittins Anthony J.
Published: March 2013

Music is a mirror reflecting a community's life and a medium of exchange; not just entertainment but a vital component of culture, a locus of social meanings and values. Cultures are never static. Music is a vehicle for modification and variation of cultural meanings. Strangers, too, are a means whereby cultures may be infiltrated and enriched. This article considers the various cultural components—music, gift-exchange, strangers, and social change—as the social fabric out of which the inculturation of the gospel must be woven. And it is a cross-cultural parable containing lessons for local congregations and communities.
Christian Reconstructionism and the Christian World Mission
Authors: Poston Larry
Published: March 2013

Christian Reconstructionism is a movement which seeks to expand the kingdom of God in an external and institutional fashion. Advocates promote obedience to the Mosaic Law and seek to transform the political, economic, judicial, and social institutions of every nation into structures that would be modern equivalents of Old Testament Israel. For Reconstructionists, who are postmillennialists, this process fulfills the great commission.

This essay shows that contrary to the missiological paradigm of Reconstructionism, the apostles of the New Testament operated in accordance with an internal and personal approach to salvation, allowing for culturally flexible philosophies of evangelism and discipleship which evangelicals should continue to appropriate for their outreach strategies.
Missionaries and Social Justice: Are They Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
Authors: Headland Thomas N.
Published: March 2013

This paper introduces the theme of this special issue of Missiology by reviewing the history of the love/hate relationships between Christian missionaries and anthropologists, and by examining how twentieth-century missionaries have been forces for both helping and hindering social justice. The author reviews here his own personal struggles of how—as a lay missionary for 25 years—he learned the hard way what human rights means to Filipino tribal peoples. The paper concludes with an appeal to both anthropologists and missionaries to cooperate in working for the human rights of all ethnic peoples.
Massacres in the Jungle
Authors: Falla Ricardo
Published: March 2013

This article shows an example of blending pastoral activity with anthropology work in a war area of Guatemala, where civilians have been the main victims. In a narrative and personal style, the author explains how he wrote the book Massacres in the Jungle (1994). The article concludes by posing a few questions on the function of anthropology today, on its relationship to human rights and to faith.
Survival in a Hostile World: Culture Change and Missionary Influence among the Cofan People of Ecuador, 1954–1994
Authors: Borman Randall B.
Published: March 2013

All too often, Christian missionaries have faced situations where political considerations make obedience to the great commission difficult. This essay reviews this problem and presents a case study of the Cofan Indians of Ecuador and the role missionary organizations have played in their human rights problems. The author suggests three criteria for dealing with human rights in light of the actual situations faced by the Cofan and missionary allies. The government's attitude both toward its indigenous peoples and toward “foreign meddling” is of crucial importance in such dealings.
Naming the Conversion We Seek
Authors: Kroeger James H.
Published: March 2013

Missionaries today struggle to be people of integrity, both in their own persons and in the approaches they employ in seeking the “conversion” of the people they encounter. Missionaries do call people to faith, while respecting their freedom of conscience, their experience, their religions, histories, and cultures. Keeping these two coordinates in fruitful tension is enhanced by reflection on the paschal nature of all human experience and, by the light of the Holy Spirit, linking it with the paschal mystery as lived and revealed in Jesus. “Paschal Mission” can serve as a foundational paradigm for all mission today.
Familism and Ancestor Veneration: A Look at Chinese Funeral Rites
Authors: Carpenter Mary Yeo
Published: March 2013

Ancestor veneration remains a major obstacle to conversion among the Chinese the world over. While the issue often comes to a head over funeral rites, ancestor veneration cannot be understood in isolation. Rather one must look at the broader issues of the cult of the family, a tenet propagated by Confucius, putting loyalty to the family above every other claim including that of the gods or the state. There was also the influence of Taoism which sees the universe as a living organism co-existing in interdependence. The family then is not just a sociological unit, but also a metaphysical unit with ancestral spirits helping to keep the fragile balance which their descendants have with the rest of the universe and with other spirits. Finally, we must not forget that death is a psychological trauma and that living relatives often need a rite of passage to remember and to grieve for the dead. Ancestor veneration then is not a simple act that can be abolished by deciding which rituals in a funeral are biblical and which are not. Rather it is part of a complex web that needs to be understood in its totality. This paper, written by a Chinese and first-generation Christian, attempts to do that.
Contextualization: Witness and Reflection Messianic Jews as a Case
Authors: Spielberg Faña , Dauermann Stuart
Published: March 2013

Most American Jews view faith in Yeshua (Jesus) to be antithetical to Jewish identity and community survival. Contradicting this perception during the past three decades, Jewish believers have been gathering in Messianic congregations constituted to sustain and to communicate Jewish identity and Messianic (Yeshua-centered) faith. The continued maturation and multiplication of such congregations require that sound principles of contextualization be identified, implemented, and tested in the context. Against the background of a layperson's testimony highlighting the need for such congregations, this article presents a collection of such principles currently being advocated and tested among Messianic Jews.
African Independent Churches in Context
Authors: Zvanaka Solomon
Published: March 2013

The Zion Apostolic Church has made great attempts to contextualize the gospel; a process which is reflected among other things in their church structures, in their calling to conversion and vocation, in their worship, and in ritual life. The nucleus of the church consists of members with kinship ties. Dreams and visions are regarded as important channels of communication between the human and the divine. For them worship time is characterized by celebration and spontaneity. Baptism, faith healing, and consolation ceremonies are practices of special significance—it is here particularly where the process of contexualization is in evidence.
Salvador 1996 “Called to One Hope: The Gospel in Diverse Cultures”
Authors: Thomas Norman E.
Published: March 2013

This article reports on the World Council of Churches 'Commission on World Mission and Evangelism conference held 24 November–3 December 1996 in Salvador, Brazil. A brief history is outlined of developments leading up to this conference focusing on issues of gospel and culture. The conference format was divided into four sections: I authentic witness within each culture; II gospel and identity in community; III local congregations in pluralist societies; IV one gospel, diverse expressions. The central theme emerging from the conference was unity in diversity. The article concludes by noting some strengths, shortcomings, and polarities of opinions found at the Salvador conference.
Contextualizing the Sanskritic Tradition to Serve Dalit Theology
Authors: Tennent Timothy C.
Published: March 2013

The contemporary theological scene in India has distanced itself from the Sanskritic theological tradition because of its long association with Brahminical dominance in disenfranchising many Indian people groups. However, there is ample evidence that the Sanskritic tradition has also been used as a powerful Dalit-like theology form the “underside.” This article examines the contributions of Indian Christian theologians who used the Sanskritic tradition and explores the historic use of the Sanskritic tradition within the Indian tradition, both secular and sacred. The article urges Dalit theologians to reconsider the usefulness of the Sanskritic tradition as a contextual aid which may provide deeper foundations for a people's theology in India.
Confronting Racism and Prejudice in Our Kind of People
Authors: McConnell C. Douglas
Published: March 2013

This article explores the nature of choice in the formation of churches and the resultant negative side effects. The observations are taken from research projects in which the author studied churches and clergy in two cities. Contrary to the initial claims, homogeneous churches do not appear to be moving toward racial reconciliation as they mature. The central problem is that the lack of intentionality in confronting prejudice as part of the formational process perpetuates the racism and prejudice that is characteristic of all human societies. The missiological response includes confronting racism and prejudice by intentionally fostering reconciliation through inter-ethnic relationships and developing a contextualized response to the changing world outside the church.
A Survey of Protestant Evangelistic Efforts among High Caste Hindus in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Richard H. L.
Published: March 2013

Three periods of twentieth-century Protestant evangelistic activity related to high caste Hindus are identified, roughly dividing the century into thirds. Fulfillment theology dominates the first, but proves inadequate to convince Hindus or to survive shifting trends in Christian thought. The second has various movements and personalities, most notably R. C. Das, but none are lasting nor particularly fruitful. In the third period little activity is present; a few leaders are identified and striking trends from within Hindu society are noted and suggested as potentially prophetic of twenty-first century developments.
A Recurring Issue of Mission Administration
Authors: Dawson David
Published: March 2013

Funding for mission in the mainline denominations is declining precipitously at the close of the twentieth century. Questions of mission funding and administration have become critical. This paper reviews a significant historical debate on this issue which occurred in the Presbyterian Church in the nineteenth century. Although the circumstances have changed, the issues continue to recur. A look at this history may give us a clue to the role of boards and congregations in the work of mission. It reminds us of the significance of congregations as primary agents of mission.
Meeting Health and Ethnic Needs in Placement: Planning for African Children Affected by HIV
Authors: Fratter Joan , Ndagire Benigna Kiwanuka
Published: March 2013

Based on their experience as workers with the London-based Barnardo's Positive Options Project, Joan Fratter and Benigna Kiwanuka Ndagire discuss practice and policy issues arising from the need to plan for African children whose primary carers are living with HIV. They argue that what they have learned from African parents, carers, young people and children affected by the virus could be applied to families with children from a range of minority ethnic groups who are experiencing similar suffering and uncertainty through HIV or another life-threatening illness. A growing demand for the appropriate recruitment, training and support of permanent and ‘flexible’ foster carers is emphasised, as is the overall importance of ensuring that health factors and ethnicity are fully incorporated into planning to meet the needs of the whole child.
Meeting the Placement Needs of Jewish Children
Authors: Smith Golda
Published: March 2013

There is little published literature on the placement needs of Jewish children in Britain. Golda Smith seeks to redress the balance, beginning with a brief historical summary of the experiences of Jews in Britain, including the roots of anti-Semitism. The article goes on to discuss the diversity within Jewishness, the importance of religion in children's understanding of their identity, the role of family customs and the implications of such issues for social work practice. Smith concludes with a call for all placement workers to have access to training and information about the placement needs of this neglected group.
Black Carers for White Children: Shifting the ‘Same-Race’ Placement Debate
Authors: Flynn Ronny
Published: March 2013

In this article, Ronny Flynn explores the current position on placing white children with black or white carers. She goes on to examine how a skills-based approach can improve the options for both white minority ethnic children and white majority ethnic children. How this approach relates to the debate on ‘same-race’ or ‘transracial’ placements for black children is explicit throughout. The author concludes by discussing some of the anxieties that may be raised by this proposal to consider black carers for white children if the skills of the carers meet the needs of the children.
Abstracts: New Feature
Authors: Davies Miranda , Donaldson Evan B
Published: March 2013

In response to popular demand (see Readership Survey results, Adoption & Fostering 23:1, pp 3–4, 1999), this special issue of Adoption & Fostering marks the launch of a new regular abstract service, featuring summaries of recent articles relevant to carers and professionals working in the fields of child care, adoption and fostering. The journal will now include up to eight pages of information on published research and policy literature from a range of UK and overseas journals. As the service develops, we hope to broaden the range of sources featured to include a wider variety of publications and more resources from Europe.
Loss and Grief in Adoption: The Impact of Contact
Authors: Courtney Ann
Published: March 2013

In adoption, children experience the loss of significant attachment relationships, based on the internal working models of their parents which were formed from birth and, rooted in memories, strongly affect them throughout childhood. Ann Courtney maintains that before children can move on to the next stage of mourning their losses, those original models have to be made explicit. She considers how this can be achieved by ‘incorporating’ the birth parent in some way into the daily life and relationships of the child. The likely effect of contact is discussed, as is the role of the adoptive parent and possible therapeutic intervention.
Initial Agency Responses to Black Prospective Adopters: Results of a Small-Scale Study
Authors: Fenton Roger
Published: March 2013

A prospective adopter's initial contact with an agency sets the tone for the rest of the assessment and placement process; an unsympathetic, culturally inappropriate response can lead to potential adopters turning elsewhere or giving up the idea of adopting altogether. Prior research has shown that negative feedback can also affect their friends' and family's likelihood of proposing themselves as adopters. Roger Fenton reports the results of a small-scale study of UK agencies, which indicates that agencies may be losing a valuable potential resource by their poor handling of initial enquiries from black out-of-area prospective adopters. Given the numbers of black children needing new families, agencies cannot afford to treat these applicants insensitively.
Family Building in Adoption
Authors: Prynn Barbara
Published: March 2013

Much anxiety is generated about whether or not a particular family placement will have a satisfactory outcome for the children concerned. This article by Barbara Prynn is based on research in which the relationship between adopters and their adopted children was examined. The parents of 50 adoptive families were interviewed. They were asked about their early lives in their families of origin, their experience with their adopted children and their life as adopters in the wider social context. Links are made between a number of aspects of adoptive family life and outcome, in particular the significance of adopters' own early attachment experience.
The Effect of Foster Carer Training on the Emotional and Behavioural Functioning of Looked after Children
Authors: Minnis Helen , Devine Clare
Published: March 2013

The Foster Carers' Training Project was a three-year research project which examined the effect of training foster carers on the emotions and behaviour of the children they were looking after. The research produced useful quantitative findings, outlined in a paper recently published in Archives of Disease in Childhood (Minnis et al, in press), but the training itself also provided rich information about foster carers' communications and interactions with the children in their care. Helen Minnis and Clare Devine describe the training, the difficulties children presented, the communications which carers had to deal with and the empirical results of the research.
Specialist Fostering in Spain
Authors: Amorós Pere , Freixa Montse , Fuentes Nuria , Molina Mari Cruz
Published: March 2013

Specialist fostering is among several new forms of foster care being introduced in Spain. It recently provided the focus of an evaluative research study carried out by the autonomous administration in Catalonia and the University of Barcelona. Pere Amorós, Montse Freixa, Nuria Fuentes and Mari Cruz Molina provide a summary of the principal advances in foster care, as well as an analysis of the problems encountered, and outline proposals for the improvement of the specialist service.
Relinquishment for Adoption of Babies with Down's Syndrome: Parents' Response to the Diagnosis and the Role of Health Professionals
Authors: Dumaret Annick-Camille , Rosset Dominique
Published: March 2013

Annick-Camille Dumaret and Dominique Rosset present a synthesis of research findings based on a study conducted in France between 1990 and 1996. The project aimed to establish a clearer understanding of why infants with Down's Syndrome were given up for adoption, to evaluate the extent of the phenomenon and its evolution over the long term. It also analysed the impact of the diagnosis on the parents' decision about whether to keep the baby or not and highlighted the determining factors in babies being given up for adoption.
Rethinking the Process of Specialist Assessments for Looked after Children
Authors: Hindle Debbie
Published: March 2013

The direct work integral to making assessments of looked after children is usually complex and may well require referral to specialist services. Debbie Hindle explores some key factors in facilitating such specialist assessments in the context of child and adolescent mental health services. Among issues highlighted are: the importance of understanding the context of the request for an assessment; the need for thorough and sensitive preparation before each session, including the presence of a supportive carer; and the need for continuity and consistency throughout the assessment process. A case example, taken from a wider study of siblings in foster care, is used to illustrate the discussion.
The Wait Gets Longer: An Analysis of Recent Information on Court Delays
Authors: Beckett Chris
Published: March 2013

The length of care proceedings in England has been growing steadily longer since the implementation of the Children Act 1989, even though reducing delay was one of the Act's specific objectives. Figures from eight areas show that, for cases ending in 2000, the average duration ranged from over eight months to a year, depending on area. A significant number of children are waiting much longer. More than ten per cent of cases in a sample from one local authority had been waiting more than two years for a court decision. Chris Beckett presents the evidence and discusses the reasons as well as some possible ways forward.
Fostering Changes: A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach to Help Foster Carers Manage Children
Authors: Pallett Clare , Scott Stephen , Blackeby Kathy , Yule William , Weissman Roger
Published: March 2013

A project has been set up in a socially deprived inner-London borough to provide foster carers with practical skills in the management of child behaviour. Clare Pallett, Stephen Scott, Kathy Blackeby, William Yule and Roger Weissman discuss why the project was set up and consider how carers learn best. Social workers often provide good general support to carers and placements, but may not offer more specific practical advice in managing behaviour so well. A training course based on cognitive-behavioural theory is described and case examples given. The evidence presented shows significant improvements in carer—child interaction, child difficulty, specific child problems causing most worry to carers, and child emotional symptoms; insignificant improvements were seen in hyperactivity and conduct problems.
The Aims and Principles of Independent Fostering Agencies: A View from the Inside
Authors: Sellick Clive
Published: March 2013

Attitudes within the wider child placement public sector towards the place of independent fostering agencies remain largely negative, especially when expressed by local authority senior managers. Clive Sellick considers these alongside some other views that have emerged from the findings of relevant research. He goes on to examine the mission statements of 55 independent fostering agencies included in a recent national survey of the services, costs, staff, foster carers and children and young people in placement in these agencies. The author has undertaken a qualitative analysis of these statements in order to identify the aims and principles that underpin agency practice. Three main themes emerge relating to promoting children's welfare, providing a range of services for children and carers and creating a competent and available foster carer workforce. These are considered alongside the profiles of ten agencies to illustrate the breadth of provision available to local authorities. The author concludes by suggesting that information about the purpose and provision of independent fostering is likely to lead to a more balanced view and use of this sector.
Kinship and Stranger Foster Carers: How do they Compare?
Authors: Sykes Jennifer , Sinclair Ian , Gibbs Ian , Wilson Kate
Published: March 2013

US research suggests that kinship foster carers are a valued resource but less well supported than carers who are strangers. Jennifer Sykes, Ian Sinclair, Ian Gibbs and Kate Wilson draw on data from their own large-scale study of foster carers to see if similar issues arise in England. The study suggests that kinship carers are a heterogeneous group. Some want to be treated as carers entitled to similar levels of financial reward, and in need of training. Others may see support from social services as ‘intrusive’ and regard themselves as qualified by experience to care as they do. On average fostering appeared to have a greater impact on the financial and housing situations of these carers than it did on those of others, and many of them reported conflicts with the birth families. Despite these difficulties they received on average less training, lower levels of financial reward and less back-up than other carers. The authors conclude that, in at least some authorities, more use could be made of kinship foster care but that it is not always an appropriate choice and more thought should be given to its support.
Post-Adoption Grief Counselling
Authors: Robinson Evelyn
Published: March 2013

Evelyn Robinson addresses the grief experienced by mothers who have lost children through adoption and suggests that their grief is disenfranchised. She explores the reasons for this and outlines methods for assisting mothers to integrate their experience of adoption loss into their lives, as practised in a self-help group, supported by government funding, which currently operates in South Australia. The article is based on the author's personal experience, both as a mother who lost a child through adoption and as a counsellor/co-ordinator with the group under discussion.
Caring for the Health of Children Brought into the UK from Abroad
Authors: Mather Mary , Kerac Marko
Published: March 2013

Growing up is never easy. For children separated not only from their birth families but from their countries of origin, it can be a long, hard struggle to achieve even the basic levels of good health that are so often taken for granted. Mary Mather and Marko Kerac focus on the health needs of two particular groups of young people: intercountry adoptees and unaccompanied refugee and asylum-seeking children. They discuss the limitations of Department of Health Guidance and identify in some detail the range of health problems which frequently go unrecognised in intercountry adopted children. Although the same problems apply to refugee and asylum-seeking children, these already traumatised young people carry the double burden of the problems they arrive with and the problems that arise once they are in the UK. The authors provide practical suggestions towards easing this burden in the effort to make health care for this group in particular, at once ethical, humane and acceptable. They end with a plea for tolerance and sensitivity, and the need to recognise that health goes way beyond the remit of the National Health Service. The aspiration to and attainment of health is determined by education, politics, the micro-climate of attitudes and the very fabric of our society.
Vaccination and Immunisation
Authors: Miles Marion
Published: March 2013

From a medical perspective vaccination, the process whereby someone is made immune to significant disease, has a long and distinguished track record and has proved highly beneficial. More recently public faith in some aspects of the process has diminished dramatically. This article by Marion Miles presents the background to, and development of, the immunisation programme currently recommended by the Department of Health. It seeks to explore reasons for non-compliance with the programme and to discuss the consequent dilemmas thus presented to professionals. Particular problems presented by looked after children are also considered.
Family Group Conferences in Permanency Planning
Authors: Gill Helen , Higginson Lorna , Napier Helen
Published: March 2013

The decision to place a child for permanency is clearly a momentous one for the child and immediate and extended family. The family group conference model, discussed here by Helen Gill, Lorna Higginson and Helen Napier, offers a way of planning and making decisions which ensures that children, along with parents and families, have their views listened to and are involved in decisions directly affecting their lives. The best interest of the child remains the focus and, where appropriate, the family may come up with possible alternatives to adoption or long-term fostering. Even when the decision is made to place the child outside the family, the family's increased involvement through a family group conference may enable them to be more accepting of the longer-term plan for the child.
Helping Foster Carers, Helping Children: Using Attachment Theory to Guide Practice
Authors: Golding Kim
Published: March 2013

Children with the worst early experiences present a considerable challenge for those helping them. Fostering is a vital resource in the care of these children. However, as Kim Golding argues in this paper, to be successful, fostering services need to be developed, supported and resourced to provide stable and therapeutic care. The extent of the difficulties experienced by the children needs to be recognised and services developed which can provide turning points in their development. Therapeutic options can be used that emphasise the role of the carer in the intervention, with a particular emphasis on the facilitation of secure attachment. Research and practice developments are urgently needed to explore interventions stemming from attachment theory for foster carers and the children they look after. The usefulness of attachment theory for guiding interventions with foster carers is explored, based on the experience of a specialist project set up to support carers of children ‘looked after’.
Children in Limbo: Cases Where Court Decisions Have Taken Two Years or More
Authors: Beckett Chris , McKeigue Bridget
Published: March 2013

In spite of section 1(2) of the 1989 Children Act,* the time taken to conclude care proceedings has been getting longer year on year since the Act's implementation. The average length of proceedings in 2001 was about 47 weeks and a significant number of children are having to wait over two years for a court decision. Chris Beckett and Bridget McKeigue looked at a small group of cases where children have waited for over two years. In this article they examine the consequences for the children of this long wait in immediate terms, such as number of placement moves and assessments experienced, and in the long term as a result of reduced options and possible psychological harm. They then consider the possible causes of these long waits, identifying a number of factors but focusing in particular on the long and repetitive assessment process that seems to have typically taken place.
Of Kin and Culture: US Children and International Kinship Care Placements
Authors: Naughton Dana , Fay Kerry L
Published: March 2013

Through voluntary or forced migration, families enter the United States as refugees, asylum seekers, documented or undocumented immigrants, students or temporary or skilled workers. They bring children or give birth to children who become citizens by virtue of having been born in the new homeland. Inevitably, some of these families will interact with public child welfare systems. Children are placed in foster care when parents die, are incarcerated, institutionalised, or abandon or neglect their children. When evaluating placement decisions for these children, child welfare workers usually overlook the resources of family members outside of the country. Grandparents and other close kin often have the ability and motivation to provide care for vulnerable relative children. Through case description and summary of domestic laws and international conventions, Dana Naughton and Kerry L Fay identify challenges to cross-border placements and make recommendations for further research and consideration.
How do ‘Children Who Foster' Perceive Fostering?
Authors: Spears Wendy , Cross Melanie
Published: March 2013

There has been an increasing awareness of the important role that the children of foster parents play in fostering. Within the Integrated Services Programme various initiatives have been set up to support these young people and to value their contribution. As part of this, Wendy Spears and Melanie Cross have sought the views of ‘children who foster’ about fostering. The results of 20 interviews and three group sessions with children who foster are presented here. Although they acknowledged the difficulties, these young people appeared to value and to have benefited from the experience of fostering in many cases. They were asked specifically to give advice to others in the same position and this also provides valuable insights. The results of this study have implications for the way the children of foster families, and indeed their parents, are trained and supported. The role of children who foster is not always clear and it is important that this is carefully negotiated with them and with their families. These young people can be instrumental in the success or failure of a placement.
Towards New Models of Professional Foster Care
Authors: Ainsworth Frank , Maluccio Anthony
Published: March 2013

Foster care for children and young people is in crisis in Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA, as elsewhere. For this reason, the proposal by Barbara Hutchinson and her associates (see Adoption & Fostering 27:3, 2003) is timely and noteworthy. In line with their argument regarding professionalisation of foster care services, Frank Ainsworth and Anthony Maluccio recommend that new models of foster care also need to be considered. Two models are suggested for further review: (1) Family for Family, which involves the recruitment of a foster family for a birth family; and (2) Circle of Friends, which is designed for children and young people whose behaviours exhaust traditional foster carers. If developed further, these models, like those of Walker et al (2002) and Chamberlain (2003), would add to the diversity of foster care services and make for a greater range of possible placements.
Group Work for Foster Carers Caring for Children with Complex Problems
Authors: Golding Kim , Picken Wendy
Published: March 2013

Group work provides foster carers with an important means of receiving support and psycho-education. It gives them opportunities to explore different ways of understanding and managing foster children. Kim Golding and Wendy Picken describe the use of two different types of groups developed by the Primary Care and Support Team in Worcestershire. The first is based on a parent-training programme. Group facilitators help carers to consider different management techniques and think about their use with the complex children they are looking after. Within these groups considerable interest was shown in attachment theory as a way of understanding the often perplexing behaviour displayed by the children. This led to the development of a second group focused specifically on their attachment needs. Routine, practice-based evaluation has been carried out and is reported here. The limited evaluation suggests that group interventions can help carers to increase their understanding of the needs of foster children and their skill in managing these children on a day-to-day basis.
Providing a Secure Base: Tuning in to Children with Severe Learning Difficulties in Long-Term Foster Care
Authors: Beek Mary , Schofield Gillian
Published: March 2013

Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield analyse the care given to four children with severe learning difficulties who have made excellent progress in long-term foster care. Their foster carers were found to be providing sensitive care across five dimensions of parenting: providing availability, tuning in to the minds and feelings of the children, building self-esteem, promoting autonomy and including the child as a full member of the family. The capacity to tune in to the minds of the children, to see the world from their perspective, was seen as key to the building of warm, positive relationships. Secure in these relationships, the children's anxiety levels were reduced and they were freer to learn, play and develop their potential.