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Shona Carter argues that social work values are in danger of being marginalised by initiatives such as Sure Start.

As the government increasingly directs funds away from social services and into initiatives like Sure Start, social work risks becoming exclusively about child protection.

While social services departments are struggling to resource even child protection work, more than £500m is being invested in Sure Start to work with families with children younger than four. Sure Start aims to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of pre-school children in areas with high levels of poverty and social exclusion. Despite this, there is a paucity of social workers within the multi-disciplinary teams nationwide. This will have serious consequences for families and for social work.

If preventive work is delivered exclusively by health and education professionals, families are denied the wider perspective that social work brings to the party. Assessments are more likely to be dominated by the medical model without reference to factors such as poverty, discrimination and family background. Projects are then in danger of discriminating further against families as solutions are directed towards "individual failings" rather than the wider issues.

Sure Start gives social work the opportunity to change the public's perception of the profession. Initially apprehensive about using my social work title, I have found that families are surprisingly receptive to support once the community has got to know me as an individual. Without social workers on Sure Start projects, families will increasingly come into contact with social workers only where preventive work has failed and statutory controls such as care orders loom large on the horizon. This can serve only to worsen the already poor image of social work in the public consciousness. It also means that we as a profession are losing our preventive skills. Conceding such valuable ground is dangerous at a time when a review of the roles of health and social care professionals is high on the political agenda.

So what can we do? The partnerships that set up and run Sure Start projects comprise those agencies locally that are willing to become involved. Social workers need to ensure they are part of these partnerships. Only then would they be in a position to fight for a social worker on Sure Start teams. Unless we as social workers are willing to stand up and defend our profession, we are in danger of losing our voice, and of failing in our duty to children who could be helped by preventive social work.

Shona Carter is a family support social worker for Sure Start in Cauldwell, Bedfordshire.