October 2017 Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare Launched at House of Lords

Director of NUI Galway’s UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre is co-editor of new handbook bringing together leaders in the field of Children’s Rights in the UK and Ireland

A new book, the Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare, co-edited by Professor Pat Dolan from NUI Galway, provides a compelling account of child welfare, grounded in the latest theory, policy and practice. The book will beofficially launched at the House of Lords in Westminster, London next Tuesday 17 October by Doreen Elizabeth Massey, Baroness Massey of Darwen and Labour member of the House of Lords.

The launch at the House of Lords will bring together leaders in the field of Children’s Rights from across the UK and Ireland. Briefings will be delivered on key themes from selected chapters such as preventing child sexual exploitation, the de-institutionalisation of children and the process and outcomes relating to multidisciplinary work with children and young people.

Briefings will be presented by Professor Pat Dolan, Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway, Professor Jenny Pearce, University of Bedfordshire, Georgette Mulheir, Lumos Foundation (whose founder and President is the Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling) and Professor Nick Frost, Leeds Beckett University.

Speaking in advance of the launch, Professor Pat Dolan co-editor of the book and Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway, said: “This ambitious and far-reaching handbook is essential reading for everyone working to make the world a better and safer place for children. Whether it is deaths resulting from child protection failures, sexual abuse and exploitation or the impact of war and famine, child refugees, or the simple fact that corporal punishment is still in existence in a third of the world’s countries, the effects of these issues on children requires collective responses and calls for something to be done. This book brings together a group of leading commentators, academics and activists to offer a considered examination of the challenges and hopefulness towards solutions.”

Co-editor of the book, Nick Frost from Leeds Beckett University, said: “It was a great pleasure to work with Pat Dolan in editing this collection of articles. We hope we have provided a comprehensive overview of global developments. Whilst it was impossible to cover every country and every theme, we hope we have highlighted the key challenges and suggested some realistic directions of travel for the future. Our volume does not explicitly cover issues common to all children, health and education, for example: it is concerned with children who may be regarded as ‘vulnerable’ and/or amongst the most disadvantaged on the planet.”

Drawing on eminent international expertise, the book offers a coherent and comprehensive overview of the policies, systems and practices that can deliver the best outcomes for children. It considers the challenges faced by children globally, and the difference families, services and professionals can make.

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