The concept of Children in Need: The answer or the problem for family support?

Abstract

This paper attempts to describe and assess the impact of the 1989 Children Act on the family support aspects of statutory child care social work. Having outlined some of the ideological challenges to family support work, it goes on to trace the main themes in the relevant professional and research literature. The family support clauses of the 1989 Children Act are outlined followed by a brief account of the dominant concerns which preceded their implementation. The findings of a recently completed study of the implementation of the Children in Need clauses of the Act, are described and brief conclusions drawn about the way in which the more negative outcomes might have been minimised, by counter-balancing the requirement for social workers to prioritise access to services, by a more robust dissemination of research findings about family support.