Repères pour un renouvellement des pratiques en protection de l’enfance

Benchmarks for a renewal of child protection practices The dominant paradigm observed in Western child welfare systems, which focuses primarily on risk assessment, is being questioned. The analysis of children’s needs is at the heart of an alternative approach that has emerged at the dawn of the 21st century and that offers several advantages, particularly with regard to the climate of collaboration between families and practitioners. Subsequently, a proposal for an innovative approach to vulnerable children is described and is broken down into three conceptual benchmarks: a reference framework for analyzing children’s developmental needs, an approach that optimally engages parents and children in the intervention process, and finally, the importance of partnership between the actors around the family. This article describes two social initiatives that are inspired by the three benchmarks mentioned, one in Italy and the other in Quebec. Finally, the conclusion addresses the similarities between aides and pippi as well as their respective specificities, the training of professionals as well as the complementarity between the risk and needs approaches.