Child Welfare Research Review culls the most important and provocative research and policy analysis in the child welfare field. The volume combines new original research with recently published seminal works and offers interpretive editorial essays organized around several areas of significant concern to the field: child abuse and neglect, family preservation, decision-making in child welfare services, the dynamics of caseload growth, the outcomes of foster care, and the most current information on adoption.By framing these basic issues and presenting the most notable findings and their research implications, Child Welfare Research Review is an essential guide for understanding both contemporary trends and future directions for the burgeoning field of children's services. It will be an invaluable resource for public officials, researchers, practitioners, and students.