The objective of the Family Support Services Scheme is to find new ways to prevent the breakdown of families and the institutionalization of children. The view taken in this report is that not much progress has been made toward achieving this goal. Criticisms of and recommendations for the scheme include the following: (1) The program attempts to cover too wide a range of services; (2) The rubric of the family has been used and misused to justify a variety of services and restrictive "family" elegibility criteria; (3) Funds for the scheme should be directed specifically toward supporting services for children and their parents; (4) Services such as housing referral and information or financial counseling should not be subsumed under the scheme; and (5) Dangers exist in the return to the community of responsibility for welfare and support services. The first section of the report examines concepts of the family and their implications for the organization of social welfare services. The second section attempts to show ways in which families are shaped by government policies and programs. In order to set the context for the following chapters, the third section provides a brief historical account of the provision of welfare services for families. The fourth and final section contains a review of the development of the scheme and the principles underlying its objectives. Particular attention is given to the development and operation of the scheme in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. (RH)