ABSTRACT
The work described and discussed in this chapter took place at the Greyhound Family Centre. The Centre itself has been in operation in West London since 1978. The Centre at one time combined day-care for under 5s with family centre work. For the past 3 1/2 years however, it has worked only with families; children and parents together. The Centre’s brief is to work with families who have children, or at least one child under 5 years old. A large proportion of the families referred have children who are on care or supervision orders, or who are likely to be placed on an order unless the quality of relationships within the family improves. This means that families are often frightened and resentful when they arrive and expecting to be blamed and criticized. Staff therefore have the dual and often seemingly incompatible roles of making parents feel supported while at the same time making clear and realistic plans for the protection and well-being of the children.
