ABSTRACT
This research was conceived and carried out in 1991-1993, at a time when there was great interest nationally in how family involvement in child protection would work in practice. Local authorities were experimenting with different procedures and the organisational framework of child protection conferences, and were anxious to share their experiences. Bradford, for example, initially operated a policy which excluded all cases of sexual abuse (Fisher, 1990). North Tyneside required all written reports to be formally submitted and discussed with parents forty eight hours in advance of the conference (Taylor and Godfrey, 1991). More commonly, in many areas parents were asked to leave the meeting toward the end when decisions were taken about registration.
