1 Michelle might move to the charity sector working for the Children's Society as a project worker at one of its 70 projects across the UK, focusing on four groups of young people - refugees, runaways, disabled children and those in trouble with the law. While she would still use her experience in child protection, there would be less crisis management and more preventive work. She could be a senior practitioner or a junior project manager and could earn around £30,000.

2 Joining the NSPCC as a children's services practitioner, advising callers to the charity's helpline, is another possibility. Around 25% of calls are about children thought to be at risk of abuse, and Michelle would have to decide whether to involve the statutory services. Other calls require more general advice around parenting. She would be one of a team of 80 qualified practitioners based in London, Salford or Bangor, earning £27,579 to £31,449.

3 Moving to the youth offending service is another option, where Michelle could work as a youth offending team practitioner. She would be funded to complete its professional certificate in effective practice and would have access to the service's new e-learning resources for career changers. Working with young offenders aged 10 to 17 and their families, she would liaise with the courts and other agencies to develop programmes to keep them out of trouble. She could earn from around £29,000.

4 Michelle might be tempted to use her experience in a new way and become an inspector of children's social services, employed by Ofsted. She would earn £35,540 working in London or slightly less (£32,840) outside the capital. Her recent experience is essential for the post and she would be expected to have a degree or other professional qualification.

5 A sideways move within statutory social services to a team safeguarding vulnerable adults might suit Michelle. Many of the protocols have been based on child protection working practices, so Michelle could transfer her skills to a new environment. While the caseload is still stressful, she might feel more out of the public spotlight. As a senior practitioner, she could earn from £35,168.

When care services minister Phil Hope announced last month that "memory clinics" offering ongoing support for people with dementia would soon be a feature of every town, it was greeted as a welcome precursor to the national dementia strategy scheduled for publication later this month. However, two weeks on from the announcement, reservations about what they might entail are emerging.

The number of people with dementia is predicted to treble over the next few decades and, according to clinical psychologist Graham Stokes, a consultant on the expert advisory committee and head of mental health at private health firm Bupa, it will be difficult to estimate the long-term impact of the clinics without "more meat on the bones" of the plan for memory services.

The clinics are designed to plug the gap between initial diagnosis and longer-term treatment by offering patients a full programme of support - particularly in the early stages, when medication may not be prescribed.

Stokes argues that the government must achieve its aim of "continuity of care" by appointing full-time "care managers" to oversee treatment of individuals as the disease takes its course."It is vital this happens and that adequate funds are available," Stokes says.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, says: "Plans for memory services, though encouraging, are only of real value if they are part of a comprehensive strategy. We need not only a plan that will create lasting change, but a commitment to put adequate funds behind this. Above all, we need the announcement of the full strategy to be prioritised so we can begin to transform people's lives right away."