Children’s services given high profile

In chapter 1 we provide an overview of the concept of prevention within child welfare, particularly under the New Labour government (1997-2010). Coming to power in 1997, Labour placed considerable focus, and financial investment, on reducing child poverty and social exclusion, and increasing universal early intervention support and coordination between services. The role of the voluntary sector became mainstream in the provision of children’s services, with the launch of several high-profile initiatives. Focusing on the concept of ‘prevention’ within child welfare and building on these shifting understandings of childhood and the concerns for children, this chapter explores how social policy operationalised under the Labour government; from how Labour developed strategies to tackle issues surrounding children and young people who are considered disadvantaged, vulnerable or at risk and how they mobilised the voluntary sector within this response.

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The Politics of Children's Services Reform

10.1332/policypress/9781447348764.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Carl Purcell

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Protection ◽

National Level ◽

State Intervention ◽

Children's Services ◽

Family Service ◽

High Profile ◽

Children’S Services ◽

Local Agencies ◽

Welfare Agencies

Comparative research has identified two broad types of child welfare system. In child protection systems the principal remit of welfare agencies is to identify and respond to actual or potential incidences of child abuse or maltreatment. In contrast family service systems are characterised by a stronger spirit of partnership between the state and families and an emphasis on working to prevent the need for coercive state intervention. This book examines the development of children’s services reform in England over recent decades to explain a shift from family service polices towards a narrower child protection approach. Successive waves of reform in England have invariably been framed as responses to high-profile child abuse inquires and media generated scandal including the cases of Victoria Climbié and Baby P. However, this book challenges the idea that it is the apparent failings of local agencies, including child and family social workers, that drive successive waves of reform. Instead, it turns the spotlight on the process of policy-making at the national level, and highlights the role played by party political leaders and senior government ministers in driving reform. The book is informed by 45 interviews with key decision-makers including ministers, senior civil servants, children’s charity leaders, local authority directors and social work researchers.

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What drives children’s services reform?

The Politics of Children's Services Reform ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447348764.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 5-20

Author(s):

Carl Purcell

Keyword(s):

Research Process ◽

Policy Reforms ◽

Children's Services ◽

Full Account ◽

High Profile ◽

Children’S Services ◽

Elite Interviews ◽

Post War ◽

Political Differences ◽

Ideological Tensions

This chapter identifies two overarching narratives on children’s services reform in previous research and makes the case for more in-depth research drawing on public policy theory and data collected through elite interviews. Firstly, policy reforms are often seen to follow high profile child abuse inquiries and associated media generated scandals. Secondly, the collapse of the post-war social-democratic consensus, and the subsequent dominance of neo-liberal economic and social policies, has also been highlighted as a key driver of reform. It is argued that neither of these perspectives takes full account of party-political differences and ideological tensions in English child welfare policy, or the role of individual policy actors or organisations in driving reform. Drawing on competing theories of the British policy-making process it is argued the roles played by politicians, civil servants and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) need to be considered. Details of the research process including those interviewed is provided.

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