Year: 2010
Type: other
Abstract: The complex makeup of the care population reaffirms the range of purposes the system serves and the limitations inherent in pursuing a 'one size fits all' approach. Does care 'fail'?Society's view of whether care is, at the most simplistic level, 'good' or 'bad' exerts considerable influence over the use of care in practice.The mistaken belief that care consigns all lookedafter children to a lifetime of underachievement and poor outcomes creates a culture of uncertainty, increasing delay and leading to instability later on.To challenge these misconceptions we need to recognise the following:• The way that we measure and present looked-after children's 'outcomes' is flawed.• There is now a substantial body of academic evidence that provides a longer-term and more nuanced perspective on lookedafter children's lives, taking into account the nature of their precare experiences and comparing them with more appropriate control groups.• This evidence shows that care can be a positive intervention for many groups of children.However, care clearly serves some groups of children better than others.Rather than focusing on 'preventing' entry into care in cases where that might not be in the best interests of the child, we should differentiate between types of care journey and identify the factors that do impact on children's wellbeing.Section 2 What works for children in care?Child development literature tells us that if children are to develop in a psychologically healthy way and develop the important character traits and skills they need to succeed in life (such as application, self-regulation, empathy and resilience), they need to experience: Executive summary• a secure attachment • 'authoritative' parenting that provides a combination of 'responsiveness' and 'demandingness' (or warmth and consistent boundaries) • stability A care system that promotes stability, resilience and healthy psychological development for looked-after children, should be based around an early or decisive entry to care (where appropriate), stable and high-quality placements that provide good parenting and are responsive to the child's needs, and a supported transition to independent adulthood. Early or decisive entry to careAcademic evidence shows that there is a strong association between children's age of entry to care, the likelihood that they will experience emotional and behavioural difficulties and their chance of achieving stability in care.Some groups of children whose entry to care is delayed by indecision or drift are at risk of experiencing:• a longer exposure to pre-care adversity • higher emotional and behavioural problems • placement disruption and instability These findings emphasise the need to avoid delay in intervening and to initiate permanency plans for children as early as possible if it is unlikely they will be able to return to their family, although it should be noted that entry to care at a younger age is clearly not appropriate in many circumstances. High quality and stable placementsStability can promote resilience for looked-after children in two respects: by providing the young person with a secure attachment (which can also reduce the likelihood of placement breakdown), and by providing continuity in other areas of the child's life, such as their school and their friendship group. Placement stability and attachmentAttachment and placement stability are strongly linked.Evidence suggests that adoption provides children who are to be looked after in the long-term with the best opportunities to develop attachment.However, adoption is only suitable for a small proportion of looked-after children and most are placed with foster carers (73 per cent in 2009).Factors that contribute to children developing secure attachments with their carers and feeling stable and secure in their placements are: Recommendations for early intervention and less delayExecutive summary 1 Demos recommends there should be a government audit of local authority policies on managing their care populations and research into associated child outcomes.2 Demos recommends the 'tapering' of the care system for families in need of occasional support, for example by local authorities making 'support care' arrangements matching foster carers and families more widely available.3 Demos recommends there should be a statutory duty on local authorities to offer family group conferencing.4 Demos calls for the government to provide seed funding for concurrent planning in local authorities wishing to pilot the service.5 Demos calls for a renewed government focus on adoption timeliness and a DfE review of the 12-month target.6 Demos recommends that all local authorities consider establishing permanency planning tracking panels.27 Recommendations for stability 7 Demos recommends that the DfE makes mental health assessments of children entering care mandatory, using a standardised multi-disciplinary measure.8 Demos calls for the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to include mental health training in training standards for foster and residential care workers.9 Demos recommends that primary care trusts commission on-site CAMHS support for children in residential care and residential staff.10 Demos recommends that local authorities make short breaks and placement support workers available to foster carers on request.11 Demos proposes introducing social pedagogy training in CWDC standards in order to spread existing good practice in residential care work.12 Demos calls on the DfE to amend care planning guidance to ensure there are fewer failed reunifications, and to introduce better resourced and time limited reunification plans. Recommendations for supported transition to independence13 Demos recommends that looked-after children teams and 16 plus teams shadow one another before and after transition.14 Demos calls for local authorities to use personal advisers at an earlier age and for CWDC to outline specific training requirements.appropriate, and so we must also focus on the key ingredients proven to make a difference at any stage of a care journey, namely a high quality stable placement and a supported, smoother transition to independence.The edges of the system also need to be 'tapered'; entering care should not be seen as an all-or-nothing intervention to be used only when all else fails.Recognising that care can, and often does, succeed enables us to be more ambitious for the system as a whole, and by extension for the children and young people who pass through it.
Authors: Celia Hannon, Claudia Wood, Louise Bazalgette
Language: English
Topic: Family and Matrimonial Law
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1946883549