ABSTRACT
From the early 1990s there was increasing debate about, and reform of, child protection systems in response to the growing criticisms and, in some jurisdictions, sense of crisis. Much of this was concerned with the development of a “differential response” approach which tried to move away from the narrow, forensically driven, investigatory approaches of the 1970s and 1980s. In many respects these new systems could be seen to reflect the concerns addressed in Messages from Research, which we discussed in the previous chapter. By the start of the new millennium, however, it was clear that, prompted by a whole range of concerns related to children, childhood, parenting, and “family” life more generally, a number of policy and practice initiatives wanted to go beyond the “differential response” approach. There were increasing efforts to develop broader, more holistic and integrated approaches where the current and future welfare and “well-being” of the child, not simply protecting them from harm, was the central focus. Such developments were not simply concerned with trying to integrate child protection and family approaches (Parton 1997), but had the overall health and development of the child as the focus. In the process, the balance between the rights and responsibilities of children, parents, professionals, and the state would be subject to significant reconfiguration. While such developments were evident in a number of jurisdictions, it is England which has embarked on the most radical transformation.
