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FUTURES OF CHILDREN - CATEGORIES, LABELS, AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES - REPORT OF THE PROJECT ON CLASSIFICATION OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

NCJ Number
25924
Author(s)
N HOBBS
Date Published
1975
Length
357 pages
Annotation
SYNTHESIS OF THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF 31 TASK FORCES ON CURRENT CLASSIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR DELINQUENT, RETARDED, HYPERKINETIC, MENTALLY ILL, OR EMOTIONALLY DISTRUBED CHILDREN.
Abstract
THE AUTHOR SYSTEMATICALLY SUMMARIZES CLASSIFICATION, DESCRIBING THE PREVALENCE OF SPECIFIC DISORDERS, THE ADEQUACY OF METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING THEM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF LABELING SCHEMES, AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. HE CONSIDERS THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF CATEGORIZING CHILDREN, WARNS HOW EFFORTS TO HELP CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONS CAN GO WRONG, DOCUMENTS ABUSES OF CHILDREN'S LEGAL RIGHTS, AND REVIEWS RECENT COURT DECISIONS. THE BOOK OUTLINES A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR LINKING SERVICES WITH THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN, AND IT SUGGESTS THAT THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE THE NATURAL CENTERING POINT FOR INTEGRATING ALL SERVICES AND PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES TO INSTITUTIONALIZATION. HOBBS SINGLES OUT THESE PRIORITY AREAS: HELPING PARENTS HELP THEIR CHILDREN, IMPROVING RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS, ENSURING FAIR PLAY FOR POOR AND MINORITY CHILDREN, IMPROVING SERVICE PROCEDURES AND ORGANIZATION, AND GAINING NEW KNOWLEDGE. THE NAMES OF THE 93 PROJECT PARTICIPANTS APPEAR IN THE APPENDIX. A 53-PAGE ALPHABETICAL LIST OF REFERENCES AND SUBJECT AND NAME INDEXES ARE ALSO PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)