Contents

1. Foreword Page 271

2. An Evaluation of The Mencap Family Adviser Service in Northern Ireland
Paschal McKeown Maureen Piggot, Mencap (NI).
Sonee Burghi and Roy McConkey, University of Ulster.
Pages 273-287

3. The Challenges and Potential of Developing A More Effective Youth Work Curriculum With Young Men
Dr. Ken Harland, Youth Action Northern Ireland.
Pages 288-300

4. Time Limited Group Therapy For Female Adolescent Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
John Hughes, Child Protection Officer, NSPCC
Pages 301 -318

5. Support For Foster Carers Moving to Adoption
Sheilagh O'Neill, Adoption UK.
Pages 319-320

6. Supporting Change In Adoption, 'it's Only a Stepfamily Adoption'
Norat C Rundell, Step Family Scotland.
Pages 321-325

7. Consulting With Children and Young People: Building on What We Know
Ruth Sinclair, National Children's Bureau.
Pages 326-327

8. Consulting With Children and Young People
Denis Haughey, MLA.
Pages 328-330

9. Consulting With Children and Young People
Mr Dermot Nesbit, MLA.
Pages 331 -332

10. How To Listen To Very Young Children: The Mosaic Approach
Alison Clark, Research Associate at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
Pages 333-341

11. BOOK REVIEW:
Loving Smack or Lawful Assault?
BY Professor Christina Lyon, Published by lppr
Southampton, London 2000,
www.ippr.org.uk, £7.50 ISBN 1 860301193
Colin Reid, Policy Advisor, NSPCC Northern Ireland.
Pages 342-343

____________

FOREWORD

In this Issue

The final edition of Child Care in Practice for the year 2001 continues with the journal's tradition of providing a broad range of articles which we are sure will stimulate discussion and inform practice.

This volume features a selection of papers from the National Children's Bureau Second Annual Conference held in October 2001 —- Consulting With Children And Young People. Building On What We Know.

Ruth Sinclair has summarised the day's proceedings in her conference report, making the point that while consulting with children and young people about issues which impact on their lives is crucial, how we go about it and what we do with the information gained must be a major consideration. She states 'Overall the conference provided an opportunity to learn from current work in Northern Ireland and develop ideas on effective techniques for consulting with children and young people to successfully involve them in the development of practice, policy and research'. We hope to have other papers from this conference in future editions of the journal.

Mencap (NI.) has been providing a specialist information and advice service on learning difficulties for the past three years and Paschal McKeown, Maureen Piggot, Sonee Burghri and Roy McConkey provide an evaluation of this service. They look at many of the stresses facing carers, and clearly having access to accurate and relevant information has been of great value to families. The authors feel there are lessons to be learned from the Northern Ireland experience, which could be shared with the rest of Great Britain and the Irish Republic.

In The Challenges And Potential Of Developing A More Effective Youth Work Curriculum With Young Men, Dr Ken Harland addresses an area often excluded in traditional youth work, that of responding to young men's emotional and health needs. He argues that narrow definitions of masculinity impact on male behaviour and development and in order to work more effectively with young men, innovative youth work must address the many complex issues facing them in today's society.

Joan Hughes and Clare Alcorn report on group therapy as a method of intervention with young female adolescent survivors of sexual abuse. This very comprehensive paper initially examines the impact of sexual abuse on teenage girls from a developmental perspective and goes on to address the value of group work in offering a further dimension to therapy through mutual support and sharing of experiences. From the evaluations and their own observation, the authors concluded that group therapy was an important intervention which 'consolidates individual counselling following disclosure of sexual abuse and is an effective means of realising the full potential for recovery in young people'.

This edition of the journal includes two very useful papers on resources for adopters. Sheilagh O'Neill from Adoption UK describes how this Registered Charity offers support and advice for prospective and established adoptive parents and long term foster carers. Among the activities offered are regular group meetings, support for adopters and their families who experience ongoing difficulties and a Training and Consultancy Service.

Nora Rundell from Step Family Scotland in 'It's only a Stepfamily Adoption' highlights some of the complexities of step family adoption and how it differs to other forms of adoption. These complexities are not always recognised and Step Family Scotland aims to raise awareness of the issues.

Our special edition in September included a conference paper by Professor Christina Lyons. In this edition Cohn Reid has reviewed her current publication - 'Loving Smack or Lawful Assault' and recommends it as a 'must for anyone working in the field of child welfare'.

Anne Morrison
(Chair) Child Care in Practice