ABSTRACT
This chapter details about the legal mandate for working with families with complex problems. It notes differences between those who seek out services voluntarily and those where elements of compulsion are needed. Legal definitions of 'children in need' and with a right to receive 'targeted' services are provided. The underlying approach to the provision of services to vulnerable children and parents contained in this legislation is closely aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989) and the UN Human Rights Conventions. The legislation specifies the local authority as a whole, but the 2004 Act gives the main accountability for assessing need and coordinating services to vulnerable children and their families in England to the Children's Services Department. Professionals working together to provide formal child protection services also need to be aware of the criminal law which governs the prosecution of parents and others who abuse or seriously neglect children.
