What to Measure in Child Protection?

This paper explores key conceptual frameworks for measurement in child-protection (CP) services and considers their application in the English statutory system. After introducing some of the debates surrounding the use of measures in CP, three different perspectives are considered: performance-based accountability, evidence-based approaches and socio-technical systems design. The paper outlines the main principles of each perspective and their implications for measurement, drawing on examples from the relevant literature. It is argued that the merits and drawbacks of different measures are dependent on the conceptual frameworks in which they are used, and these in turn reflect the contested nature of CP and its institutional context.