Children's services are the heart of the library. This overview provides hands-on, proven strategies for librarians, addressing questions critical to the long-term success of children's library services. Experienced, new and trainee children's librarians, library administrators & trustees will all welcome this new 'bible'.

In this work, Sullivan digs deeper, melding his own experiences as an activist with perspectives gleaned from other industry experts to help you learn about the books that boys love to read, uncover the signs that point to the reading gap, find creative programming ideas to match boys' interests, and more.

'I think this book, in assembling the views of a distinguished group of professionals, can have a profound effect on child welfare theory and practice. These practitioners, critics and academics have much to say. I for one am grateful that their views are now conveniently available to all of us in this book.' -- from the foreword by Thomas R. Berger, Chairman, the British Columbia Royal Commission on Family and Children's Law The first Canadian text on child welfare, this work examines a number of issues which represent the state of the art of child welfare in Canada. Among the contributors are practitioners as well as academics from the fields of social work, child care, law and medicine. Important government studies and reports in the 1970's did much to define existing problems in child welfare and to provide directions for their solutions. The developments and research reported in this book add to their findings. Several main themes emerge in the book -- one being the lack of standardization of child welfare policy and practice in Canada since each province has its own regulations and policies. Other concerns common to many of the authors are the dismantling of social service programmes as a result of the current recession and the need for greater cooperation with the native Indian leadership in regard to the provision of child welfare services to the Indian community. Another important theme touched on by several authors concerns children in the care of welfare agencies. They discuss how adequate the range and quality of services are and how the effect of these services can be measured. The final theme centers on prevention and the early identification of families whose children may be at risk without certain support services. The point of view which transcends all the contributions supports an institutional approach, where a range of services is available to families to choose from, as opposed to the residual approach which regards government services as the last resort. While it is the latter view that is prevalent in Canda today, the authors argue that this represents a penny wise but pound foolish approach not only to child welfare but also to the broader field of social welfare.

UCLG’s Third Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD III) examines basic service provision and the current state-of-play of the local governance of basic services around the world. Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World examines the enormous challenge of ensuring the universal provision of basic services in a world that is being shaped by rapid global urbanization, climate change, and economic, social and technological transformation. The world’s urban population is predicted to reach 5 billion people within the next 20-30 years. The report analyses the conditions necessary for local governments to provide these new urban residents with quality basic services. Water, sanitation, waste management, transport and energy are essential, not only for the preservation of human life and dignity, but also in driving economic growth and ensuring social equality. Each chapter examines a world region, drawing on existing research and consultation with local authorities on the ground. The chapters review access levels, legal and institutional frameworks, and the different ways in which basic services are managed and financed, as well as showcasing diverse examples of innovation in the local and multi-level governance of services. It concludes with a set of recommendations for all stakeholders with a view to making the goal of basic services for all a reality. This report contributes to discussions on the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. The findings of GOLD III will also be essential to promoting the vision of local governments at the 2016 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat III).

The present publication constitutively expands the field of discourse on the topic of basic income and explores the possibilities of its introduction as well as the opportunities and risks. Although all visionary proposals for an unconditional basic income (BGE) have so far not been implemented politically, at least in democratically constituted welfare states, the question of implementation or the conditions for success and the identification of possible blockades have only been dealt with marginally. Recent publications on a BGE also show this political-institutional "blindness" and do not address enough the reasons for the failure so far. Without a transfer strategy, however, the idea will fail in Germany due to such implementation naivety. In this book, therefore, the state of the debate on basic income is developed further to the extent that it is integrated into welfare-state development processes and current challenges for the "safeguarding of social security". In addition, a social-scientific classification of hitherto visionary guarantee elements of a basic income model is undertaken, linking up with the "silent" change to a socially investing state.