ABSTRACT
In the health arena, the 1990 Act brought changes in how children and families may be referred to specialist child psychiatric resources. The various strands contributing to the theme of retrenchment from welfare have relevance for the arena of residential provision for children in a number of different ways. With respect to the provision and organisation of all forms of services for children and young people, the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act significantly affected both the structure of local authority social service departments and the work undertaken with this client group. The general orientation of policy away from institutional care, appears to have been influential across children's services. The various inquiries also focused attention on the staffing, management, inspection and regulation of residential establishments caring for children. The themes of normalisation and integration have had particular relevance to recent developments in the childcare arena, again on a number of different fronts.
