Parenting in the Twenty-First Century: An Introduction

This introduction provides some insight into the issues related to parenting and an overview of the articles selected for this special issues journal presentation. Families come to the attention of the service delivery system through a variety of agencies and institutions-child serving agencies, mental health, hospitals, courts, and schools. Although many referrals are made specific to children, treatment interventions often include work with parents around parenting issues. The results of a survey of social work field instructors indicated the need and desire for additional training for MSW students and professional practitioners for work with parents and evaluation of program outcomes. The overview presents a unique variety of articles on various perspectives on parenting and the types of programs available to assist parents as well as the professional community.