| Abstract: | Correspondence to Martin C. Calder, Child Protection Unit, Salford Social Services Department, Avon House, Avon Close, Little Hulton, Manchester M38 OLA Summary There have been a great many protracted and heated debates aboutthe practice of state intervention and control of family lifein recent years. Indeed, the Children Act (1989) was draftedafter the Cleveland Inquiry highlighted the lack of consulationwith parents and the lasting effects of ill-considered intrusioninto family life, and embraced the philosophy of partnership.Social workers operating in the child care and child protectionareas need to balance the contradictory notions of paternalismand partnership, in the knowledge that they will be pilloriedby the popular press when they get it wrong. This paper attemptsto contrast the two concepts in their philosophical and socialwork contexts, and moves on to recommend frameworks for helpingto balance them when they are operationalized. It is essentialto consider this particular debate in the wider political andeconomic contexts, particularly where uncertainty and the lackof resources are ever-present features. |
