Community Work Approaches to Child Welfare examines how child welfare can be transformed when communities and families are treated as partners rather than problems. Through detailed Canadian case studies, it shows how families in resource-poor and often hostile environments draw on resilience and strengths that traditional systems frequently overlook.
The book profiles community-based initiatives in urban centres such as Toronto and Winnipeg, rural Hazelton, B.C., and several First Nation communities that have assumed control over child welfare services. In each case, local organizations work with families to co-design and implement programs, building the capacity of neighbourhoods and communities to care for children.
Alongside these examples, the contributors offer a powerful critique of current child welfare policies in Canada, especially practices that isolate parents—often single mothers—and rely heavily on individualized, office-based, risk-focused assessments. Such approaches, they argue, can objectify clients and erode dignity.
By contrast, the community work models presented here emphasize collaboration, accessibility, and respect for the lived realities of families. This collection is particularly relevant for social work students, practitioners, policymakers, and community organizers seeking practical, grounded alternatives to conventional child welfare practice.
