This essential course text and practitioner resource prepares readers for the distinctive challenges of working with children and families involved in foster care. It brings research and evidence-informed practice together with the clinical judgment needed to understand complex situations in which families’ histories, relationships, and system involvement continually shape one another. Unfolding cases illustrate how therapists build trust, develop their understanding as new information emerges, adapt interventions, and respond to the emotional demands of the work. The book integrates elements of trauma and attachment theory, child development, caregiving relationships, culture, and the larger systems surrounding care. End-of-chapter Key Points and Reflective Questions enhance learning; extensive PowerPoint slides and class exercises for teaching and training are provided on the companion website.