[영문]This paper is based on a qualitative research study of social workers’ and parents’ experiences of attempts to ‘refocus’ child protection practice in England since the late 1990s. A review of the research base for the refocusing initiative is presented, leading to an exploration of one of the key changes arising from the initiative: the move away from investigations in ‘borderline’ cases towards less intrusive initial assessments. Methods involved qualitative interviews with parents and social workers in twenty-three cases drawn from two local authorities. The main conclusions are that initial assessments, as developed through the refocusing initiative and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (Department of Health, 2000), provide a form of practice that offers benefits in terms of balancing child protection and child welfare approaches, and in terms of relationships with parents.