The government plans to give councils area-based grants that will replace smaller ringfenced grants for specific services such as preventive work and children's mental health services.
Barbara Atkinson, programme manager of Enfield Children's Fund in London, said she was concerned funding could slip away from early intervention projects into other more immediate areas of concern.
"The money that exists for preventive work is going to become un-ringfenced," she said. "That is worrying because there is already too little incentive for spending on prevention."
Steve Beynon, chair of the Association of Directors of Children's Services' educational achievement committee, said it was vital that local authorities ensure the area-based grant is still used for preventive work.
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