Music Therapy in Child Welfare explores the relationship between children’s rights and international child welfare and music therapy theory, research and practice. The purpose of the book is to contribute to an increased awareness among adults who work with children and adolescents in child welfare settings regarding music’s role, music therapy, and children’s rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides a worldview concerned with the idea that children are significant contributors of meaning in the society in which they live. As such, adults working with them in child welfare settings should pay attention to the many ways young people express and perform their meanings, especially through the use of music.

The book explores various theories, models and approaches aligned with a child-focused perspective. Music therapy are explained in regard to populations such as families, foster care, child welfare institutions, school, aftercare, and work with immigrants. The book also includes narratives taken from different contexts and presented in order to illustrate theoretical discussions. It is recommended that appropriate UNCRC-oriented music therapy practices should be arranged so that it is possible to take inclusive, multiple, both/and perspectives into account regarding the choice of music therapy strategy.