Despite the prevalence of Youth and Family Services, which are offered in every state and in many countries, there exists an absence of professional literature that addresses the needs and concerns of those workers on the “front lines.” This gap presents a concern for the current practitioner and for those being trained in preparation for careers as Youth Care Workers, who can be found working for residential programs, schools, state social service organizations, court systems, and other entities.
Thriving on the Front Lines provides sound philosophical and theoretical frameworks for readers, and emphasizes how youth care workers can become more active in change processes. Dr. Bertolino emphasizes strengths-based theory and literature that offers practical, research-based methods that have been correlated with successful services and programming, and emphasizes collaboration, competency, change, and outcome-oriented services that are in line with federal and state mandates.