Preface

Abstract

The Journal of Family Social Work has a strong commitment to the wellbeing of children and families, and over the past few years has published papers and special issues that provided clinicians and administrators with emerging findings that challenge tradition and make way for new approaches. This combined issue continues in that vein, starting with an important paper on promoting black family resilience. In Leading with Racial Equity, author Tonya Bibbs highlights the importance of structural inequalities in the lives of Black families and the need for family centered policies that will counter marginalizing experiences. This includes the need for culturally competent services and organizations that are developed specifically to meet the needs of Black families. To highlight this important topic, this paper is followed by a commentary titled The Strength of Black Families, written by Ryana Anderson. In this commentary, Dr Anderson stresses the importance for researchers and clinicians to listen to the voices of Black urban parents and provide services that meet specific and wellarticulated needs. This final volume of 2019 also addresses other important areas of family well-being. In An Analysis of the Relationship between Parenting Selfefficacy, the Quality of Parenting and Parental and Child Emotional Health, authors Emily Hamovitzh, Mary Acri and Lindsay Bornheimer present the findings of a study of over 200 caregivers of children diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The study was conducted with ethnically diverse and impoverished families and examined the self-appraisal of parents along with their ability to provide consistent discipline. An enhanced understand how parents provide caretaking is also explored by author Philip Heslop. In Foster Father Performing Gender, Heslop examined the way that foster parents negotiate and reproduce parenting roles. Building on the theoretical framework of Judith Butler, Heslop examined multiple and diverse masculinities and the range of ways that men care for children. Taking care of children is also examined by authors Christina Marsack and Jillian Graves, who studied the concerns of parents over the age of 50 who were raising an adult child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASPD). In “I worry about his future!” Challenges to Future Planning for