Significant amounts of money and resources are spent on child and family services, so successful evaluation of whether or not they are achieving the best outcomes is therefore essential.This edited collection offers an international perspective on the challenges of designing and undertaking outcome-based evaluation of child and family services. With contributions from leading international experts, it introduces the key ideas and issues currently being debated in the evaluation of ...

Nineteen outstanding authors. Nineteen extraordinary stories. One bestselling universe.It's the Twenty-Second Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There's just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.What do you do when the odds are stacked against you? Mercs plan, strategize, and somet...

A Tortantula and a Flatar. The most enigmatic teaming in the mercenary guild, it's also a perfect pairing, where one's strengths cover the other's weakness. Raised together from birth, their lives are a brutal series of tests. From the moment they're thrust together, they are forced to kill their own kind just to survive. No excuses, no mercy, no room for failure. Succeed…or die.Azah isn't like most other female Tortantula; she's much smaller and made fun of constantly. No one expe...

The Guild Wars seemed to be winding down…until you left Earth.Jim Cartwright, commander of Cartwright's Cavaliers and Minister of War for the Terran Federation, has been struggling with all the hats he has to wear. Merc commander, minister, and leader of Earth's Raknar forces for their allies, the Dusman. The strain's causing him…issues, and he decides to visit the surviving Human colonies to get away for a bit.What he finds isn't what we was expecting, as ...

Major Rodger Y. Murphy should have died when his helicopter crashed off the coast of Mogadishu in November, 1993. Instead, he woke up in August, 2125, in a binary star system 152 light years from home. Without any memory of the otherworldly abductors who spirited them away in cold sleep, Murphy and 100 other "Lost Soldiers" have been retrieved and awakened by officers of the Consolidated Terran Republic.Promising to return to the 55 Tauri B system after completing a distant mission...

From the outside, The Lyon's Den doesn't look like much; there isn't even a sign. But Mercs of all species know that if you head to southwest Houston, near the Starport, there's a particular run-down strip mall that looks like it's been abandoned for years. The glass door second from the south end of the strip is plastered over on the inside with blue paper, and the faint golden outline of a rampant lion is the only clue.The door is locked, of course, and beyond the door is nothing...

More authors. More stories. The same bestselling universe.It's the Twenty-Second Century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we've found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent—we're at the bottom of the food chain.Welcome back to the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separat...

Fourteen outstanding authors. Fourteen extraordinary stories. One bestselling universe.It's the Twenty-Second Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There's just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight an...

Thirteen incredible authors. Thirteen Stories about the Depik—what they were and where their society goes from here!It's the Twenty-Second Century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we've found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent—we're at the bottom of the food chain. But we've found new allies.The Depik are feared across the ga...

Even more authors and stories. Still the same bestselling universe.It's the Twenty-Second Century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we've found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent—we're at the bottom of the food chain.Welcome back to the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for mone...

Major Rodger Y. Murphy should have died when his helicopter crashed off the coast of Mogadishu in November, 1993. Instead, he woke up in August, 2125, in a binary star system 152 light years from home. Without any memory of the otherworldly abductors who spirited them away in cold sleep, Murphy and 100 other “Lost Soldiers” have been retrieved and awakened by officers of the Consolidated Terran Republic.Promising to return to the 55 Tauri B system after completing a distant mission...

Thirteen tales of Horror, perfect for a dark and stormy Friday the 13th…or a sunny Tuesday afternoon.From science fiction to classic European horror, interwoven with layers of creep factor, gore, and mystery that will keep you turning the page…and looking over your shoulder.So, light the candles, stir the cauldron, and check your ammo count, because things are about to get dark!