Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, July 2007, 31: 41-55

"This article reviews the UK government's policy "Every Child Matters" (HM Treasury 2003) with a particular focus on the role given to professionals collecting and sharing information about families as a means of screening children and deciding which ones to target. It is posited that this policy undermines parents and overestimates professionals' ability to predict future outcomes. Both the New Zealand and British governments want to improve children's welfare and are seeking ways of improving preventative and early intervention services. It is argued that the proposed network of professional data sharing in the UK is not a significant part of the solution for improving children's welfare and, may have unanticipated adverse effects. An alternative approach in situations not involving child safety issues is to continue to place parents at the heart of decision-making about children's needs and to focus more on listening to parents and children than on monitoring and making professional judgements about them. The article draws on the debates and the experiences in England, where the policy is being implemented to bring out the arguments for and against the role of data sharing. It is relevant to the New Zealand sector in considering children's welfare."--JOURNAL ABSTRACT

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