ABSTRACT
Old protectionist models of child welfare provision in place since 1945 have been challenged under the ECM agenda and replaced by a more holistic system which takes a multi-dimensional/multi-agency approach to the complex needs of children, young people and families. Removing children from harm, whilst safeguarding the child, does not tackle the longterm social and economic causes of deprivation and abuse. Developing services around the child suggests opportunities for interventionist models that prioritise prevention over protection in relation to child welfare issues. The family and community around the child become the necessary focus in this alternative model. Recent policy takes the form of integrated, multi-agency working in order to address the call for ‘joined-up’, ‘wraparound care’ which ultimately alters the relationship between families, service providers and the state. However, the changes to children’s services encapsulated in ECM, including those for ‘looked-after children’ in the care of the local authority, have not occurred in a political vacuum. They are part of the reform of the welfare state and safeguarding system which can be traced back to the late 1960s. Such reforms reflect the rapid shifts and changes in modern society. The tensions in policy-making and service delivery are in the balances between:
• the role of the state in protecting children, • maintaining the rights and privacy of the family, and • acknowledging the rights of the child.
