Social services departments will have to agree formal working protocols with the police and other agencies to combat child prostitution under government guidance released this week.

Social services directors and children's charities have welcomed the multi-agency guidance that says that children involved in child prostitution should be treated as victims rather than criminals.

But the government has not earmarked any further funding and meeting its objectives will divert resources, social services directors have warned. The multi-agency guidance has been issued by the Home Office, the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh assembly.

It builds on existing draft guidance and outlines how social services departments, the police and the voluntary sector should deal with children that have been abused through prostitution, or are at risk of abuse. It also complements government child protection inter-agency guidance released last year.

The latest guidance stresses the need for agencies to recognise that there is a problem with child prostitution and to treat the child primarily as a victim of abuse. It will also encourage the investigation and prosecution of people who exploit and abuse children through prostitution.

Andrew Webb, spokesperson on child protection for the Association of Directors of Social Services, said the guidance would require local area child protection committees to develop a formal child prostitution strategy.

This will include establishing the extent of child prostitution in their area, raising the public's awareness of the issue and working closely with voluntary organisations.

"You have to educate and involve the whole community," said Webb. "The problem of child prostitution might not be as visible if there is no red light district."

Meeting the guidance would create more demand for child protection services and affect overstretched budgets, Webb added.

Barnardo's development worker, Tink Palmer, welcomed the guidance. "It is extremely good news that the emphasis is now on safeguards for children abused through prostitution and not on treating them as criminals," she said.

Palmer added that she hoped the government's review of sexual offences, which is expected next month, would provide greater legal protection for children abused through prostitution.

· Safeguarding Children Involved in Prostitution, available from www.doh.gov/quality.htm