“Hands on”, “know the customer”, “stick to the knitting” – these are the key attributes of excellent organization; so is the message of a recent best selling text in management practice. Successful organizations specialize we are told. They do not produce “manufactures”, rather they produce particular manufactured products; hamburgers or microcomputers. When we turn to the human services, however, we note an increasing tendency to view tham as services, suigeneris, evoking a sense that we have pinned down a slice of reality about which we can think generically for purposes of policy and service provision. This view can be maintained only be asserting that there are no important differences in people's situations, by the use of bulk terms such as “children”, and “families” and by the simultaneous assertion that the important policy issues are organizational and managerial. T hat there are concepts that cut across categories is a reminder that there are, indeed, similarities between human beings and that we share a common culture but it is the real differences between target populations which provide anchorage for differential policies, programs and practice, rather than the similarities alone.

This paper is an edited version of an address given at a seminar on ‘Future Directions in Child Welfare’ held at Monash University in May 1985. The seminar's aim was to facilitate discussion of the Victorian Child Welfare Legislation and Practice Review Report (The Carney Report).

Participation is about young people:

As the young person moves up the age scale from 12 to 25 it is a reasonable expectation that his or her grip will be tightening on the full range of adult rights and responsibilities. The young person will also be letting go special rights and responsibilities pertaining to childhood. Hopefully this new independence and these new obligations will be welcomed and successful completion of the developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence will leave, more often than not, positive feelings toward self and life in general.

The recent soccer tradegy at Brussels has no doubt many explanations, but one thing is certain. The offending Liverpool football supporters largely consisted of youths who had been greatly deprived in their childhood. Anyone who has been to Liverpool will be aware of the miserable living conditions that many families find themselves in. It is hardly surprising that children from this upbringing turned into hooligans who so disgraced their country.

Children are the citizens of the future. The future of Australia too depends on the children of today. It is therefore urgent that we protect the interests of children, who, of course, do not have a voice of their own.

This Bureau is one of the few organizations in Australia concerned to see that legislation is passed which is truly in the best interests of children. There are many areas which give rise to great concern.