Lack of central clarity within the implementation guidance (HC(90)23/LASSL (90)11) and differing time scales for implementation have led to a lack of consideration of the relationship between the care programming approach (CPA) and care management (CM). Instead, says Steve Onyett, there appears to be a short-sighted scrabble to achieve the requirements of the care programming circular at the expense of rational longer-term planning. This article has two aims: to argued that there is no sensible long-term basis for differentiating the CPA and CM, and to set out a longer-term agenda for their development.