ABSTRACT
There are clearly multiple competing interests and ideas implicit and explicit in this introduction to a chapter on ethics in child and family well-being practice. What principles can best guide practitioners who work in rulegoverned environments, where one is at risk if one does not follow the rules? What do professional codes of ethics tell practitioners about how to manage in environments in which so many rights have to be balanced and so many rules and procedures followed? It has been difficult to find even a discussion about the ethical frameworks of child welfare practice in most of the now impressive tomes of child protection literature.
