There was some. The courts have done a lot of work on this issue too. There have also been some social work approaches through what's called family group decision-making. As soon as a child comes into care they sit down with the entire family and explain the timeframe they're working within. They are very explicit about the things that need to be addressed in the year-and-a-half period.
Concurrent planning is another approach that has been used to address this. They work early on to get the child in a placement that can become permanent if the child is not able to return home. The family is asked up front if they have a responsible relative they would want to take care of the child if they cannot continue to parent. They work really hard to get the child early on, instead of waiting until he is three or four to say maybe they should move him from the foster home, where he has bonded with the foster parents, to an aunt's house. They try to do that early.
There have been social work responses to improve the prospects for children, as well as legal responses.