BASPCAN was founded in 1979. The moving spirits in the early years were Alfred White Franklin and Christine Cooper, two consultant pediatricians. BASPCAN has held national conferences, organized study groups, and published seminal works. A newsletter has developed into a journal, the "Child Abuse Review." In the work of BASPCAN over the last 18 years, all the important child- protection issues of the day have been debated. Current issues for BASPCAN are fundamental to the legitimacy of the process by which protection is provided to children. A major current concern is the structure of a child abuse investigation. Current practice and procedures do not provide a theoretical basis for conducting investigations in the modern environment. An investigation should be undertaken by a team of professionals that can provide analyses of the nature of the harm, the likely or possible causes of the harm, the circumstances in which the harm occurred, and the consequences of the harm. It should also involve an assessment of the parents or caretakers and a relevant history of the child. Another significant current issue is the role of the courts in child abuse cases. There should be three bases for considering court care proceedings: the need for more extended protection for children, for a framework for facilitating change, and for an underpinning for planning the future of children who cannot return home. The current arrangements for the exchange of information among professionals and between families and professionals are chaotic and create considerable confusion. This paper provides some guidelines for planning the types of meetings to be held and the purposes of each type of meeting. In discussing training for an effective response to child abuse, the author advises that training should take into account research and practice as well as clinical experience. It is important that research that affects one profession involved in child protection services come to the attention of other professions involved. 6 references