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The authors of this valuable book are all experts in the field of decision-making relating to child placement. Albert J. Solnit is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Yale University. Barbara Nordhaus is assistant clinical professor of social work, and Ruth Lord is a research scientist at the Yale Child Study Center.
Starting with a brief summary of children's needs and rights, they reiterate the principles for determining placement of children whose custody becomes the subject of legal action. In this they follow closely the conclusions reached in Before the Best Interests of the Child (Goldstein, A. Freud & Solnit, ). They then examine the role of the caseworker involved in this work and point to the inherent contradictions in acting in this field. ‘The worker is expected to aim for two goals…reunification of the family, and protection of the child and the child's best interests.’ Recognizing the agonizing dilemma that such conflicting aims may create, the authors stress the need for ongoing supervision and consultation for the field-worker with the availability of outside experts from whom guidance may be sought at any stage. Reading this chapter, one is immediately reminded of the cases that received widespread publicity in Britain not so long ago: , the inquiry into the death of Jasmine Beckford in 1985, of Kimberly Carlisle in 1987, the Cleveland Child Abuse Inquiry, 1987. All these careful reconstructions and investigations pointed, inter alia, to the strain imposed on the workers involved and the collective failure of those operating the system to give appropriate support.
The major part of When Home is No Haven consists of the examination of 35 cases in which the Child Protection Services of Connecticut were involved. Each case is outlined and is followed by a consideration of the principles involved, and the strengths and weaknesses of the action taken. The cases cover examples of life-threatening injury to children, the risk of physi