ABSTRACT
Child welfare services have been engaged in considerable debate about the role and function of state support services since the inception of the Children Act 1989. This chapter argues that the ineffective implementation of the Children Act undermines the more recent policy initiatives presented in the consultation document. In 1989 the then Conservative government introduced the Children Act, presenting it as ‘the most comprehensive and far reaching reform of child care law to come before parliament in living memory’. A high status is assigned to child protection work, with family support services seen as less skilled and of lower status. The absence of any reference in Supporting Families to existing powers and duties to support families where children are in need is striking. The Children Act makes clear the important role the state could play in providing helpful services to children and their families.
