ABSTRACT
Working in social care in the early 1990s I distinctly remember being aware of the power imbalance between professionals working with children and parents. Everyone was beginning to get their heads around new legislation. The Children Act 1989 significantly changed the way that professionals worked with parents. Its philosophy was that ‘partnership and participation’ should involve ‘empowering children and families’. This meant that information should be shared with parents, and they were encouraged to be actively involved in decision making for their children. At this time, I recall conversations with colleagues about their concerns that they would now be expected to share their written reports about children with parents before meetings. Even more concerning to some practitioners was that parents would now have the right to attend meetings that had previously been held behind closed doors. The concept of partnerships with parents was flawed and one sided. It all sounds surreal that this even happened and that it wasn’t that long ago. We’ve come a long way since then.
