Children and HIV/AIDS

In December 1982, the Centers for Disease Control received the first reports of cases of children with HIV/AIDS. Since that time, the child welfare system, as well as other human service organizations, have been coping with and responding to the crises of children and families living with HIV/AIDS, including the considerable number of children affected by AIDS through the illness of their parents, siblings, or other family members.

This volume is intended as a resource for personnel within the child welfare field serving children and families whose lives are touched by HIV and AIDS. The contributors add insight to and fuel the discussion of the fight against AIDS. They provide tools to help better serve the children and adolescents that the current epidemic so tragically affects.

Chapters and contributors include: "Factors Associated with Parents' Decision to Disclose Their HIV Diagnosis to Their Children" by Lori S. Wiener, Haven B. Battles, and Nancy E. Heilman; "Custody Planning with HIV-Affected Families" by Sally Mason; "Correlates and Distribution of HIV Risk Behaviors Among Homeless Youths in New York City" by Michael C. Clatts, W. Rees Davis, J. L. Sotheran, and Aylin Attillasoy; and "HIV Prevention for Youths in Independent Living Programs" by Wendy F. Auslander, Vered Slonim-Nevo, Diane Elze, and Michael Sherraden.

Originally published as a special issue of Child Welfare, this volume examines lessons learned from a variety of perspectives and settings, and identifies a number of continuing challenges facing the field. Children and HIV/AIDS is an invaluable compendium that should be read by social workers and health specialists and all those affected by the epidemic.