The prevalence of child abuse and neglect is an international concern that justifies the existence of child protection systems. An important first principle for all such statutory child protection systems is to ensure that the system itself does no further harm. It can be argued that there are specific circumstances within which well-meaning services have the potential to do harm: specifically, processes and actions that disempower parents by reducing their autonomy and capacity for positive action. Exploring the circumstances in which reduced parental autonomy impacts negatively on families is an important first step in developing procedures for working with families that not only avoid harm but are orientated to produce meaningful change. Two evidence-based programs are described that together have the potential to assist child protection practitioners to develop a collaborative helping partnership with families, clarify goals for change and support parents to achieve meaningful improvement in their family functioning. The programs described are both manualised and have empirical support for their effectiveness. The potential benefits for both families and practitioners working within child protection agencies in the two programs are described.Keywords: Child abuse, child protection, decision-making, evidence-based practice, family issues, parent-child interactions In 2006, approximately 3.3 million allegations of child abuse and neglect were made to child protection services in the United States. Of these allegations, 62% were investigated or received an alternative response, with nearly 30% of the investigations confirming that at least one child was a victim of child abuse or neglect (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). A similar picture has been found in Australia where, in 2005, there were 137,829 investigations involving 2.5% of children aged between 0 and 14. Of these 55,921 (41%) of the allegations were substantiated. These statistics indicate that a statutory authority that can intervene in the lives of families is essential for the care and protection of children. Under certain conditions, however, we argue that the involvement of the child protection system can work to the detriment of families and, indeed, may have the potential to do harm.The processes and actions that child protection services and practitioners use to intervene in the lives of children and families can be one potential source of harm, particularly when these disempower parents, reduce their autonomy and capacity for positive action, such as the use of court orders that extinguish parental rights, and mandatory attendance at parenting programs. Such interventions may seem unavoidable when working in the best interests of children. Exploring the circumstances, however, in which reduced parental autonomy impacts negatively on families is an important first step in developing procedures for working with families that not only avoid harm but are orientated to produce meaningful change. A second, related, potenti...