Social workers today encounter competing claims concerning the needs and rights of children and youth while facing new dilemmas regarding policy and practice. They are urged to serve children's best interests where support for children's welfare and education becomes more precarious. They are asked to save "children at risk" but at the same time protect communities from "risky children," and they are encouraged to "leave no child behind" while implementing "zero tolerance" policies that exclude troubled children from school settings.

This interdisciplinary group of contributors examines the theoretical, political, and practical aspects of working with youth today, carefully grounding their work in the sociology of childhood. Beginning with the question "What is the nature of childhood?" this edited collection breaks loose from existing modes of thought and strategies of practice, prompting readers to critically reflect on contemporary policies and practices and to imagine new possibilities of action.