Social workers today not only face competing claims concerning the rights and needs of children and youth, but they also confront contradictions between policy and practice. Social workers are expected to fight for the best interests of the child, even though financial support for children's welfare and education grows scarce. They are asked to save "children at risk," while, at the same time, they are urged to protect communities from "risky children"; and they are encouraged to "leave no child behind," while also implementing "zero tolerance" policies to keep educational environments free...

There has been a surge of recent interest by social work researchers in conducting research in criminal and juvenile justice settings. This is largely fueled by the tremendous increase in incarceration over the last several decades, with millions more in probation or parole at any given time. Rising expenditures strain state and local budgets and many individuals are spending much of their adolescence and young adulthood in correctional facilities. Despite the profound impact that the criminal justice system has on client populations served by social workers and related professions, there are...