Children's services at Birmingham Council could be taken over by the Department for Education as early as this month if standards do not improve.
The takeover will happen if Ofsted inspectors do not see improvements when inspect later this month.
The department is the biggest of its kind in England and has been rated as "inadequate" for four years.
Department head Peter Hay said there had to be a role for the city council but there were no easy answers.
"I think there's got to be a role for the city council - because it can bring the relationships and the money and the investment," he told BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"But it can't do what it's always done and I absolutely respect that the secretary of state has a very difficult decision because there are no easy answers here to bring these long-term problems - staffing, investment and change - to bear on the lives of children in this city."
There have been a number of high-profile child deaths in Birmingham in recent years, including those of Khyra Ishaq in 2008 and Keanu Williams in 2011.
Keanu was found with 37 injuries at his home in Ward End, Birmingham, and a serious case review concluded last month there were "a number of significant missed opportunities" to save the two-year-old.
Khyra died aged seven after being starved at her home in Handsworth area of the city.
'National disgrace'The department has been rated as inadequate by Ofsted since 2009, a judgement inspectors reiterated last year.
The new head of the department Mr Hay, said in the summer that improvements had not been made and said he could not guarantee the safety of children in the city.
Last month the chief inspector of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, said the city's failure to protect vulnerable children was a "national disgrace".
Ofsted is due to carry out a further review in the coming weeks and BBC News understands that if some progress is not shown, officials from the DfE will take over the running of Birmingham's children services.
A spokesman for the DfE said it had warned the council that unless Ofsted identified signs of improvement in its next inspection it would have to take further action.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham's Perry Barr constituency, said it was a "complete and utter political move" by the government.
"If they are going to do it they should just do it instead of making leaks and threats," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
'Deprived' areasHe said the government could instead look at devolving the department to constituency level, as there were some constituencies with more than 100,000 people.
Earlier this year, government officials forced Doncaster Council to cede control of its children's services after years of failure. The department is now managed by a private firm until an independent trust is set up.
In a speech on Tuesday, Education Secretary Michael Gove said more struggling children's services departments in England could be taken over by independent providers.
"I confidently expect that the improvements we will see in Doncaster mean this model will grow," he said.
With a population of 1.1 million, Birmingham is the most populated British city outside London.
In 2010, Birmingham was ranked 13th in a government list of deprived areas, behind authorities such as Hackney and Tower Hamlets in London.
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