Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk: A Caseworker's Story
by Marc Parent
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 76)
Read in May, 2008
Marc Parent writes really well. He wrote Turning Stones as therapy, to get four years working as a night caseworker at the New York City Department of Emergency Services out of his system. He describes, in harrowing detail, situations that most of us can't even imagine. His job was to wade into emergencies and rescue children, then hand them off to the foster system without learning ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
Children are not stone. Children have deep flowing roots grounded in complex ecological structures. When working with children involved in CPS there needs to be emphasis on the importance of valuing both the individual as well as the system in which leads to structural degradation and subsequent social patterns within groups. While a child’s life can ultimately be affected by the decision of an ECS worker, individual problems are the consequence of the societal problems at large. Structura...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
sociology majors
Marc Parent tells an honest, heartfelt account of the children and parents (usually mothers) he met while working with NYC's Emergency Children's Services. An idealist, Marc fought hard for every family he met, and writes their stories with reverence and poise, never accusatory to the parents who failed or the system that was disorganized and unsupportive. It was a very educational and inspirational book for myself, as I once thought about becoming a DCF caseworker, and have considered social ...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
those who want to read about the scary situations that CPS workers are in, without any context
While Marc Parent tells a pretty accurate picture of life as an overnight, emergency child protective worker I found this book to be lacking in the development of connections between his work and that of the agency as a whole. Mr. Parent shows little understanding of the complex dynamics that create the families that he served (poverty, mental illness, etc.). Additionally, his experiences seem to be told as much for shock value as for his own personal therapy, and not in a way that is useful t...more
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
Anyone interested in social work, child protective services.
This book is an account from a man who worked for CPS. It is heart wrenching and gives you a real understanding for the struggle the case managers go through when deciding when to remove and not to remove children from their families. What is best for the child? What is best for the family? What happens to the child after they are taken away? An excellent text. I couldn't put it down.
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Read in January, 2007
Sad, gut-wrenching, realistic...a great book about real kids and real systems that do not work for the under-priveleged. I learned more about Child Protective Services, the people who work there, the system, and the children that are affected. Again...another book that reminds me I do not have anything...ever...to complain about in my life.
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First came across this book while reading books onto tape for a social work class. It was gripping enough that after reading one chapter, I went out and bought my own copy. Not for the faint of heart, but honest and immensely rewarding to those who are interested in this field
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Read in August, 2003
recommends it for:
child welfare workers
READ THIS BOOK. If you work in human services or with children in any capacity, this book is a must read. It will haunt you. It's a scary portrayal of our child welfare system, and the many children who are abused and neglected and are overlooked by the system.
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Read in December, 2007
Library book. Story of a the 5 years a young man worked in the 'at risk child' department in New York city. I expected this book to be somewhat depressing but it was an amazing testiment to the ability to make a difference with just small daily acts.
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recommends it for:
people interested in child welfare
This was a hard book to read. But well written and impossible to put down. I would recommend not reading this one before bed - it's very unsettling.
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This was a very moving story about a caseworker for CPS and the cases that moved him. Heartbreaking and inspiring.
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Read in March, 2006
This is a really great book that shows the good and bad side of our system for dealing with children and families.
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Read in January, 2005
Takes sad stories and frames them in hope and purpose as opposed to just relating shocking tales.
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Read in January, 1999
recommends it for:
everyone
This book is terrible and wonderful all at the same time. I would recommend it to anyone.
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Read in January, 2001
very realistic account of social workers' struggles with case management.
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