Child & Youth Services is devoted to research and theory about the development and care of children and youth in communities, human services, and education. Its readers include researchers, academics, and practitioners. Theme issues allow authors and guest editors the space to survey and critically examine special topics such as work with families, theories of "at-risk" status, civic education, residential care, and street work.

Each issue of Child & Youth Services is published as a peer refereed and reviewed journal as well as a hard and soft-cover book. Journal chapters are available as independent works, and the books are available for use as textbooks and for purchase in university libraries. This journal is referenced in the most common search engines.

Themes that have been covered by the journal include:

• pain, normality, and struggle for congruence reinterpreting residential care for children and youth
• residential child care staff selection - innovative approaches in working with children and youth
•  new lessons from the kibbutz street social education in Brazil
• transitioning exceptional children and youth into the community-research and practice - family perspectives in child and youth services
• helping the youthful offender, individual and group therapies that work
• specialist foster family care - a normalizing experience
• perspectives in professional child and youth care
• America's homeless children
• being in child care