Objective: This article describes the results of a scoping review to better understand child welfare professionals' and service users' (families' and children's) perspectives on and experiences with family engagement in the child protection system. Method: Forty peer-reviewed academic journals from multiple scientific databases published in English between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2016 were analysed. Results: Aspects of traditional child protection discourse still tends to dominate engagement practices, including the over-riding priority of child protection concerns; authority-based, coercive, and bureaucratized methods of engaging clients; children's participation as perfunctory rather than an important aspect of the process; limited information from the workers to children and families; and processes that are stigmatizing, focusing on families' deficits rather than strengths. Conclusions and implications for practice: To improve the quality of relationships between workers and children/families, and, most importantly, to improve child welfare outcomes, a paradigm shift is needed, recognizing children's and families' rights and the importance of their participation. Methods are needed that help child welfare professionals increase their competence and confidence in effectively engaging children and families in child protection processes, including assessments that have critical implications for clients' lives.

Infants and toddlers enrolled in Early Head Start are at increased risk for child maltreatment. Within Early Head Start, home visitors are in a unique position to identify the families most likely to experience maltreatment by identifying characteristics and behaviors of children, caregivers, families, and environments that are of concern. However, research has demonstrated that home visitors are often ill-equipped to identify and address risk factors such as parental mental health concerns, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Further, little is known about how home visitors understand and perceive risk for maltreatment and identify vulnerable families. The study sought to identify how Early Head Start home visitors understand maltreatment, perceive risk for maltreatment, and work with families identified as at-risk. Qualitative interviews exploring identification of risk for maltreatment were conducted with fourteen Early Head Start home visitors and supervisors. Results indicate variable understanding of maltreatment. Home visitors identified numerous factors they believe suggest elevated risk for maltreatment and described variable approaches to working with families at risk. Findings provide rich information about the role that home visitors play in maltreatment prevention within Early Head Start. Directions for effectively training home visitors to engage families and deliver program and community-based services in a manner that reduces risk for and prevents maltreatment are discussed.

Shaping children's experience, enhancing their imagination and affecting their behaviors, toys have great importance. Recently, toys have gained a digital characteristic and many children have tended to use them. For this reason, educational magic toys (EMT) were developed with augmented reality technology in this study. It is called as EMT because virtual objects such as story animations, 3D objects and flash animations appear on the toys. EMT has included puzzles, flash cards and match cards to teach animals, fruits, vegetables, vehicles, objects, professions, colors, numbers and shapes for average 5–6 age children in Early Childhood Education. The aim of this study is to reveal teachers' and children's opinions on EMT, to determine children's behavioral patterns and their cognitive attainment, and the relationship between them while playing EMT. Mix method was used and the sample consisted of 30 teachers and 33 children aged 5–6 in early childhood education. As data collection tools, a survey, an observation and interview form were used. This study revealed that teachers and children liked EMT activity. In addition, children interactively played with these toys but not had high cognitive attainment. From this point, we can say that these toys can be effectively used in early childhood education. However, collaborative and interactive learning with these toys should be provided. Moreover, this study will provide an important contribution, present a new educational AR application, and fill the gap in the educational technology field.

This study examines the way casework skills relate to parent and child welfare worker engagement. Quantitative data were gathered through personal interviews with 131 worker–parent dyads from 11 child welfare agencies in Ontario, Canada. Four key casework skills explained much of the engagement that parents had (or lacked) with their workers: The extent workers ignored problems perceived by parents to be important; the extent workers asked parents to do things that the parent did not feel would be helpful; worker's skill locating appropriate services; and workers making or returning telephone calls. Three key skills explained worker engagement: Workers including parents in planning; workers being caring and supportive; and workers praising parents for their efforts, ideas or achievements. The use of particular casework skills were also related to the severity of the case, worker experience, work environment, worker stress, and worker burnout. Findings suggest that certain casework skills should be emphasized in child welfare practice with parents. Relationship-building skills appear to be a necessary, but not a sufficient condition, for engagement to come about. Needed are skills that contribute to a collaborative relationship and an anti-oppressive approach with clients.

While much is known about the factors related to student performance beyond Grade 3 less is known about the factors that are related to student performance in early childhood education and the early years in primary school. As part of the ‘I go to school’ project in South Australia, this study tracked children attending integrated preschool/childcare centres – known as Children’s Centres – as they made their transition to school. Results indicated that children who attended early childhood education programs that were of higher quality – as characterised by higher staff qualifications and a greater range and more engaging children's activities – showed a greater gain in cognitive development than children who attended lower quality programs. Findings also suggested that children who benefitted the most from attendance in these programs were children from backgrounds of greater social disadvantage than children from less disadvantaged backgrounds.