About the Guest Editor

**Nigel Parton** is Professor in Applied Childhood Studies at the University of Huddersfield, England where he has worked for most of the last forty years. A social worker by background he has written and edited over twenty books and a hundred articles and chapters on the broad areas of child protection, child welfare and social work and in recent years has developed a particular interest in studying and comparing child protection policies and systems in different jurisdictions. Recent books include

'Child Protection: International Trends and Orientations' (edited with N Gilbert and M Skivenes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) and 'The Politics of Child Protection: Contemporary Developments and Future Directions' (Basingstoke; Palgrave/Macmillan, 2014).
