Last April, in the coalition's "bonfire of the quangos", the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care (NCERCC) was killed off.
Many of us in social care think it was a bad decision, and there is an enormous demand for another NCERCC, or at least another body doing the same thing.
Residential staff do a highly demanding job. And they need support from people who really understand what they do.
The NCERCC was well respected, and used by almost every residential child care establishment in England and Wales.
It was established after a long period of sector-led campaigning. So we know campaigning can and does work. But can such pressure be put to use once again to get this decision changed?
So, where do we start? We need to appeal to the children's minister and to policy makers, local government, academic institutions, young peoples' organisations and Ofsted.
Our main focus has to be on the positive outcomes that result from good quality care for young people in homes. It is their right to have parenting from the state that is well managed and appropriately skilled.
Linked to this is cost-effectiveness. This is an expensive service that exists to care for a small number of children. But what ministers and policy makers must remember is that if these children are not parented well by the state when they are young, it is the state that will foot the bill for the things that go wrong throughout the rest of their lives.
While campaigning for this service to be reinstated we must be alert to the fact that improvements in residential care are scandal driven. The inevitable question is: could we see a repeat of the problems that have been recently exposed in adults services? Is a news story about children's homes akin to the stories about Winterbourne View or Southern Cross likely to hit newspaper front pages anytime soon?
Also, if the government wants to have dialogue with the sector about improvement, there has to be a credible body for them to have such a dialogue with. In other words, the government may need some gentle reminding that it is worthwhile supporting our trade and professional associations.
If there's any one lesson the campaign to reinstate NCERCC offers, it is this: we must remember to tell policy makers about the good work that we do, otherwise they might forget what we are here for.
Sign the petition to re-establish the NCERCC
Vic Citarella is chair of the Institute of Childcare and Social Education
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