Discerning European Perspectives on Evidence-Based Interventions for Vulnerable Children and Their Families

Abstract

In this contribution I reflect upon European perspectives on evidence-based working with vulnerable children and families. Europe is presented as an open-ended construction and a mosaic of cultures, languages, and ethnicities. This is not without consequences for child and family welfare practice. I will bring into memory some recent milestones in this field, and show how the evidence-based practice paradigm entered the continent and is given form today. Evidence, however, is not an endpoint. I will try to go beyond evidence by outlining what an integrative perspective on care for vulnerable children and families could look like, what it may offer to Europe, and what the role of Europe in developing policy and practice based on such a perspective may be.