Investing in Children: Policy, Law and Practice in Practice

Investing in Children starts with the premise that the UK - on the basis of current league tables of child well-being and past difficulties in getting child-centred legislation through parliament - seems unable to give sufficient priority to 'investing' in children. It then seeks to explain why - over the last 150 years and in the present - increased government expenditure on children, legislated constraints on the actions of adults, and policies which support and respect children and young people have often been subject to a variety of hurdles. The author then uses these explanations to focus on the ideas and imperatives which underpin current 'investment in children's' policies.The book is unique in providing a broad sweep of relevant changes over 150 years in the UK whilst focusing on the detail of particular legislative, law and policy developments in England and Wales because its contention is that the answers lie in the detail. It draws on a very wide range of disciplines, the autor's academic background in social history and her particular expertise in child law and youth justice to focus on relevant changes. So it examines the 'intangibles' - ideologies, social and moral ideas about children and families, and preoccupations with risk and future dangers - as well as the roles that science and law have played, and still do play, in the success or otherwise of policies to improve the lives and prospects of children.