Looking After Children in the UK—Convergence or Divergence?

McGhee, Janice; Bunting, Lisa; McCartan, Claire; Elliott, Martin; Bywaters, Paul; Featherstone, Brid

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcx103

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…A rapid evidence review of the relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect was jointly commissioned by the Nuffield Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and published in 2016 (Bywaters, Bunting, et al, ). Two parallel studies of the policy context in the four UK countries linked to trends in intervention rates were carried out focusing on children on child protection plans (CPP) or registers and on LAC, respectively (Bunting et al, Forthcoming; McGhee et al, Forthcoming). The in‐depth case studies will be reported elsewhere.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity: A universal challenge?

Bywaters

Brady

Bunting

et al. 2017

Child & Family Social Work

Self Cite

102

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The role that area deprivation, family poverty, and austerity policies play in the demand for and supply of children's services has been a contested issue in England in recent years. These relationships have begun to be explored through the concept of inequalities in child welfare, in parallel to the established fields of inequalities in education and health. This article focuses on the relationship between economic inequality and out-of-home care and child protection interventions. The work scales up a pilot study in the West Midlands to an all-England sample, representative of English regions and different levels of deprivation at a local authority (LA) level. The analysis evidences a strong relationship between deprivation and intervention rates and large inequalities between ethnic categories. There is further evidence of the inverse intervention law (Bywaters et al., 2015): For any given level of neighbourhood deprivation, higher rates of child welfare interventions are found in LAs that are less deprived overall. These patterns are taking place in the context of cuts in spending on English children's services between 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 that have been greatest in more deprived LAs. Implications for policy and practice to reduce such inequalities are suggested.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity: A universal challenge?

Bywaters

Brady

Bunting

et al. 2017

Child & Family Social Work

Self Cite

102

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“…Published administrative data for the four countries summarised on an annual basis by the third sector organisation, the NSPCC, and our own analysis of that published data had suggested that there were substantial differences in the proportions of children who were in out-of-home care ('children looked after') (Bentley, O'Hagan, Raff & Bhatti, 2016;Bunting et al, 2017;McGhee et al, 2017) or subject to child protection interventions. However, the NSPCC summaries also pointed to the possibility that some of these differences were artefacts of the data collection process rather than real differences.…”

Section: The Current Study and Comparisons Between Uk Nationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child welfare inequalities in the four nations of the UK

Bywaters

Scourfield

Ct³

et al. 2018

Journal of Social Work

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Comparative International data on patterns of inequality in child welfare interventions, for example, the proportion of children about whom there are substantiated child protection (CP) concerns or who are in out-of-home care (CLA), are far less developed than data about inequalities in health. Few countries collect reliable, comprehensive information and definitions, methods of data collection and analysis are rarely consistent. The four UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) provide a potential 'natural experiment' for comparing intervention patterns. This study reports on a large quantitative, descriptive study focusing on children in contact with children's services on a single date in 2015. It found that children's chances of receiving a child protection intervention was primarily related to family socio-economic circumstances, measured by neighbourhood deprivation, within all four countries and in every local area. There was a strong social gradient which was significantly steeper in some countries than others. Ethnicity was another important factor underlying inequalities. While inequalities in patterns of intervention between the four countries were considerable, they did not mirror relative levels of deprivation in the child population. Inequalities in intervention rates result from a combination of demand and supply factors. The level and extent of inequity raise profound ethical, economic and practical challenges to those involved in child protection, the wider society and the state.

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“…Drawing upon significant research and commentary, for example, Bunting et al (2018), Davidson, Bunting, Bywaters, Featherstone, and McCartan (2017), McGhee et al (2018), Bywaters et al (2018), Featherstone, White, and Morris (2014), Care Crisis Review (2018), identifies complex and overlapping factors that are contributing to the increasing numbers of care applications and looked after children.…”

Section: Contributory Factors To the Care Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drawing upon significant research and commentary, for example, Bunting et al (), Davidson, Bunting, Bywaters, Featherstone, and McCartan (), McGhee et al (), Bywaters et al (), Featherstone, White, and Morris (), Care Crisis Review (), identifies complex and overlapping factors that are contributing to the increasing numbers of care applications and looked after children. These factors include socio‐economic factors, legal and policy frameworks, professional practice, the nature of children and family circumstances, and tensions within the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Care in crisis—Is there a solution? Reflections on the Care Crisis Review 2018

Holt

Kelly

2019

Child & Family Social Work

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In 2017, the number of applications for care orders in England and Wales was the highest ever recorded at 14,207. This is a significant factor, contributing to the rise in the number of children who are looked after, which is at the highest level since 1985.The authors reflect on the recently published Care Crisis Review 2018, a sector-led review, which examines the reasons for the rise in care proceedings and the number of children in care. The review sought to identify changes to policy and practice within local authorities and the family justice system, in an attempt to divert cases away from the family courts and to reduce the number of children in care, where it is safe to do so.Whilst the legislative framework is largely effective and the system generally works well, there is insufficient funding and resources to meet the needs of children and their families when they seek help, regardless of whether this is at an early stage or when they are in crisis and most in need of care and protection. KEYWORDS care crisis, care orders, children in care, relationship working 14,207. The number of care applications for the year 2007 and

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Looking After Children in the UK—Convergence or Divergence?

Cited by 23 publications

References 19 publications

Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity: A universal challenge?

Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity: A universal challenge?

Child welfare inequalities in the four nations of the UK

Care in crisis—Is there a solution? Reflections on the Care Crisis Review 2018

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