Referrals and Child Protection in England: One in Five Children Referred to Children’s Services and One in Nineteen Investigated before the Age of Five

Abstract

Based on a Freedom of Information request with data from 75% of all English children's services departments covering over ½ million children, this paper shows that 22.5% of children born in the 2009-10 financial year were referred to children's social care before their fifth birthday. Three-quarters of them were at some point assessed; almost two-thirds found to be in need; and a quarter formally investigated. These findings show the full extent of children's involvement in children's social care before the age of five. One in every 9 children born in 2009-10 was suspected by social workers of being abused and this high level of involvement is only justifiable if it is demonstrably reducing harm and promoting well-being of children -an outcome which is contested. Early Help's introduction was associated with high proportions of children being referred and assessed and rapidly increasing numbers of investigations thus questioning its ability to prevent entry to the child protection system. The paper calls for a change from the current emphasis on individualised and investigative approaches to child protection in order to provide an effective and humane response to children, the majority of whom live in families affected by high levels of deprivation and poverty. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 IntroductionDespite statistics on safeguarding being collected in England for many years, numerous inquiries, and decades of research there has never been information published at a national level to show how many children are involved in the system over their lifetime. This paper reports on a freedom of information (FoI) request that gathered data from 75% of all local authorities (LAs) in England covering over half a million children, 80% of all those born in the 2009-10 financial year. It provides, for the first time, information on how many children were referred to children's services before reaching the age of five. It also shows how many were formally assessed; suspected of abuse; subject to a child protection investigation; on a child protection plan; and entered care. More than one in five of all children were referred and many progressed deeper into the formal child protection system. Given the shame and fear that accusations of abuse can cause (Gibson 2013) this high level of involvement is only justifiable if it is demonstrably reducing harm and promoting well-being of children -a goal which is certainly contested (Edwards et al., 2015; Featherstone, White and Morris, 2014a; Frost and Parton, 2009; Gilbert et al., 2012).The FoI request shows that this information on numbers of children involved in the safeguarding system over 5 years is easily produced. The fact that such important information has, until now, been unavailable is an indication of how research agendas and policy making in many cases have been f...

Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

“…For instance in the United Kingdom, 1 in 5 children born in the 2009–10 was referred to children’s social care before their fifth birthday, and 1 in 19 received a forensic assessment for child maltreatment (Bilson & Martin, 2016). Such intense focus on investigative-forensic assessment contrasts with the slim availability of supportive services for families in the United Kingdom.…”

No Child Left Alone: Moral Judgments about Parents Affect Estimates of Risk to Children

“…Mothers described in the vignettes were 10 years younger (ranging in age from [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and held lower-paying jobs than in the standard vignettes (e.g., McDonalds cashier instead of accountant). Otherwise identical to Experiment 1.…”

“…Today, such situations are far more likely to result in a call to Child Protective Services, with subsequent legal intervention" [15]. A recent study in Britain found that fully one in five children in England born during the 2009-2010 fiscal year were the subject of a call to Child Protective Services before reaching the age of five [16].…”

Correction: No Child Left Alone: Moral Judgments about Parents Affect Estimates of Risk to Children

“…participants were asked an explicit rationale question: " situations are far more likely to result in a call to Child Protective Services, with subsequent legal intervention" [15]. A recent study in Britain found that fully one in five children in England born during the 2009-2010 fiscal year were the subject of a call to Child Protective Services before reaching the age of five [16]. The effective criminalization of parenting choices that objectively pose little risk to children suggests that additional factors may be at work.…”