Focuses on the continuing debate about how child protection policies and practices should be balanced and integrated with those in family support and child welfare more generally. A range of distinguished commentators suggest ways forward

1. Child Protection and Family Support: Current Debates and Future Prospects Nigel Parton 2. The Re-Focusing of Children's Services: The Contribution of Research Mike Little 3. Implementing the Family Support Clauses of the 1989 Children Act: Legislative, Professional and Organisational Obstacles Jane Tunstill 4. Policing Minority Child Rearing Practices in Australia David Thorpe 5. Relating Outcomes to Objectives in Child Protection Policy Jane Gibbons 6. Introducing Non-Punitive Approaches into Child Protection: Legal Issues Judith Masson 7. Can Filtering Processes be Rationalised Corinne Wattam 8. Children abused within the care system - do current representation procedures offer the child protection and the family support? Christine Lyon 9. Protection and Child Welfare: Striking the Balance Elaine Farmer 10. Need, Risk and Significant Harm June Thoburn, Marion Brandon and Anne Lewis 11. Delivering Family Support: Issues and Themes in Service Development Nick Frost 12. Partnership with Service Users in Child Protection and Family Support Bill Jordan 13. Putting Child and Family Support and Protection into Practice Barbara Hearn

'An extremely useful anthology, pulling together a number of very important pieces of research with common themes and issues...it will be a relief for managers and practitioners in child care agencies toread this book, which aims to be realistic and honest about the current situation and what can be achieved, and to understand better why moving to a more balanced approach can seem to be such an uphill struggle.' - Adoption and Fostering'This is an important and timely book and should be essential reading for everyone professionally involved in child protection.' - Community Care'This book provides a very good range of views on a complex, important and topical issue. The contributions are all well written and thought-provoking. The range of perspectives offered is impressive.' - Child and Family Social Work