One of the legitimate criticisms levelled at residential child care historically is that it cut children off from the outside world. In many respects this merely reflected prevailing ideologies, particularly those deriving from a rescue philosophy, which decreed that children were best removed from their families and communities. Thus, homes were situated apart from centres of population and family contact was actively discouraged or restricted. Awareness of theories of attachment and of the central importance of families in children's lives has brought about a reappraisal of the role of the family in work with children in care. Similarly, ideas of community ascribe an importance to ‘place’, even if for many children communities of origin might not always be safe or happy places.

Like any child, children in care should be able to access a range of services according to need. Chapter Four has outlined some of the particular needs that children in care experience. These can rarely be addressed by one individual or agency alone but require that links be established with other professionals to ensure an effective whole child response. This chapter is concerned with how residential child care facilities need to take account of, and work effectively with, a range of family, social and other professional networks.

What is family?

The concept of family can take on very different complexions beyond that of the nuclear model that we might be drawn to think about when we hear the term. The reality is that despite increasing levels of single parenting and rising divorce rates, the majority of children growing up live with both biological parents. This figure reaches 90% in countries such as Greece and is around 70% in the UK and 60% in North America (UNICEF, 2007). However, once children become involved in child protection proceedings these figures drop dramatically, a trend that continues as child protection proceedings continue (Daniel and Taylor, 2001).

Trends in recent years suggesting increased levels of family breakdown, and the fact that residential child care is likely to work with children who are well down the road of child protection or other social work proceedings, might infer that few children in residential child care can expect to live with both biological parents. Many parents will not themselves have experienced nurturing and effective parenting and are hence unable to provide their own children with these qualities.