ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the interplay between policy and practice in the field of family and children's services. It describes the historical shifts and tensions leading to the present system of service delivery. The chapter analyzes the ongoing policy dilemmas. It also examines the educational and policy implications of the family preservation experiment. The very invention of family preservation services such as Homebuilders—excellent as these programs may be—testifies to the failure of social policies to insure provision of the institutional supports required to enable parents to meet their children's developmental needs. Several other developments of the late nineteenth century related to the provision of family and children's services have direct relevance to policy issues surrounding the provision of family preservation services. Although the settlement house movement that evolved at the same time also helped to shape the profession, it seemed to have little impact on the structure and objectives of the early family service and child welfare agencies.