It is estimated that there are some 140 million orphans worldwide, most of them in transition countries such as Russia and Brazil or poorer regions of the developing world. In Orphan Care, contributors from Botswana, Brazil, China, Russia, Thailand, and Zimbabwe provide insider, on-the-ground perspectives on orphan care in their respective countries, covering the historical and socioeconomic context of that country's policy and services, the primary reasons that children are brought into care, and the prevailing forms of current orphan services.

Questioning the appropriateness of "imported" orphan-care models and services, the authors collectively demonstrate the lessons that Northern development practitioners can learn from their counterparts in the South in the interests of creating and implementing effective orphan-care programs throughout the world.

Jo Daugherty Bailey is associate professor of sociology and social work at the University of Houston-Downtown.