A recent focus on policies and practice related to parent–child visits in the child welfare system has increased the knowledge of the field with regard to the

• importance of visits,
• frequency of visits,
• planning for visits,
• worker skills needed for effective visits, and
• outcomes of visits.

Most child welfare families are headed by single mothers, so visiting policies and practice have largely been targeted to mothers and their children. In the past decade, however, there has been a movement nationwide towards more father involvement in the lives of children. As a result, the child welfare system is also developing strategies for father involvement. (Excerpt from the Introduction)

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