Family support in Romania and the UK: different circumstances,similar challenges

This paper offers reflections on the challenges of refocusing child and family social work services towards family support in Romania and the UK. It analyses the major reforms to Romania's child care legislation introduced in 1997, identifying political, economic and social factors which create both opportunities and obstacles for changing policy and practice in that country. Ways in which intercountry adoption undermines the development of family support services are given particular attention. The insights generated by the discussion are doubled back to shed new light on the continuing difficulties of refocusing services from child protection to family support in the UK. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.