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This paper discusses some of the findings from a research study that was carried out in 1995. The study aimed to examine the implications of the use of the purchaser/provider separation (and associated care management processes) in social work with children and families, focusing on the effects of separation on service delivery and on the role of the social worker. The research involved two stages: a telephone survey (to gather quantitative data about the prevalence of organizational separation in England and qualitative data about perceived advantages and disadvantages of separation) and a single exploratory case study in a Local Authority Social Services Department.The paper is concerned primarily with the case study findings. It begins by locating organizational separation within a social policy context. This is followed by an overview of the existing literature on the implications of the purchaser/provider separation and care management for service delivery and for the social work role. The methods and key findings for the telephone survey and the case study are then described. Analysis of the case study data suggested that separation in this setting could be understood along three dimensions: efficient processing versus delays; control of the work and work processes versus lack of control; and clarity of role and task versus duplication. The paper ends with a discussion of the study's main conclusion – that the purchaser/provider separation in child and family work may introduce benefits of specialization whilst also bringing problems associated with fragmentation of the traditional social work role.

This paper uses a research and development project – the A Space project in Hackney – as an exemplar for discussion of policy and practice issues arising from the recent expansion of out‐of‐school child care and study support services. In particular, the authors explore children's participation rights and multi‐agency working, two key principles upon which A Space is based. The paper suggests that current government out‐of‐school policy raises key questions about the siting, staffing, coordination and costs of future services; and that underlying these are more fundamental questions about: how children should be spending their time; and whose perspectives on this should be taken into account. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.