Child- and Family-Centered Practices in a Post-Bureaucratic Era: Inherent Conflicts Encountered by the New Child Welfare Professional

Various child welfare organizations are changing services by adopting child- and family-centered approaches and moving away from redundant bureaucracy, top-down strategies, and fragmented networks. This shift inevitably poses challenges. This article uses the case of intensive family case management in the Netherlands to explore conflicts perceived by professionals and associated coping strategies. Findings are that internal conflicts (leading to a relapse into old routines or to misinterpretation of purpose) and boundary conflicts (leading to a relapse into old collaboration agreements) cause challenges. Pioneering organizations need to provide support for learning and reflection between professionals, seeking alignment between accountability and learning.     

The UN decade for women in Peru

Peru will see the International Decade of Women come to an end with some real achievements tempered only by doubts as to their endurance and long-term impact on the conditions of life of the great majority of poor women, in cities, towns, and the rural countryside. To evaluate the likelihood of a lasting effect it is useful to review some of the actions which were taken under the stimulus of the international call to give priority to the concerns of women in public and private institutions.