CHILD-WELFARE AND STIGMA - PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE

This article draws on an empirical study of stigma and child welfare i n the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain; it shows how stigma c ontinues to be a part of the experience of using and delivering child welfare services, despite the positive determination of policies in al l three countries that this should not be so. More optimistically, how ever, it is also evident that the experience of stigma and exclusion c an be reduced, and the article concludes by outlining those factors wh ich would appear to be most significant in combatting stigma.