Although there have been a number of studies carried out over the years about various characteristics of foster parents, most of them have been undertaken in the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. Very little research has been done in Australia about foster care in general, recruiting foster parents, or about foster parents of intellectually handicapped children. This lack of Australian research raises questions as to whether findings of studies in other countries can be generalised to all foster care situations. It cannot automatically be assumed, for example, that the Australian foster parent population is the same as abroad, and yet for years workers in Australia have tended to rely on overseas statistics as a basis for decisions on foster care.

Human service networks are completely unwieldy and changeable, and analysis of them is no simple task. Nevertheless, the examination of two such systems – in Michigan, U.S.A. and in Victoria, Australia – ought to enable some conclusions to be drawn as to the effectivenesss and implications of two alternative implementations of basically similar policies for the protection of children. Such an examination is here attempted, using for comparison the Child Protection Units operating under the auspice of the Michigan Department of Social Services in Michigan, U.S.A., and those operated by the Children’s Protection Society in Victoria, Australia.

The author presents the results of an experimental program initiated for the purposes of providing comprehensive psychiatric assistance to abused and neglected children and their families. Designed jointly by Massachusetts’ U.S.A. Departments of Mental Health and Social Services, the projects are also a demonstration of interagency case collaboration. The paper briefly describes the program philosophy, service delivery strategy, and staffing pattern. Through analysis of data of 332 families and 1,118 individuals treated in the first year, profiles of the abusing/neglecting family, their children, and the adult perpetrator of the situation are developed. Implications for mental health care, the cooperative endeavours of mental health and child welfare agencies, and difficulties in measuring treatment outcomes of this population are discussed.