Child abuse, and deaths of the clients of child protection services, continues to plague welfare and justice systems in many parts of Australia.  Legislative changes to child protection in Victoria have introduced new procedures for managing the state’s child protection services.  Among its objectives, the legislation seeks to promote stable long-term care for children through timely and more efficient family interventions.   This paper places these events in the historical context of recurring shifts in how the problem of child abuse is conceived and acted upon.  It draws particular attention to new forms of power in relation to the policing of children and families, which promote individual responsibility for the underlying social arrangements affecting child maltreatment.