A strengths-based, family-centered perspective is considered a best practice in child welfare. However, many frontline workers still do not use this perspective to guide their work, or they apply it either inconsistently or incorrectly. This article discusses the emphasis on compliance in child welfare practice, including the common use of compliance as an indicator of engagement and the negative consequences of noncompliance. This focus on compliance impacts workers’ ability to use strengths-based approaches in child welfare work, specifically around issues of use of power, resistance, and responsibility for engagement. The implications of this are explored and recommendations for ways to increase collaborative work are also discussed, using a case study to illustrate the points. Recommendations for future research are included.