Social Work with Looked After Children

Christine Cocker, Lucille Allain, Author

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781526424372, 9781526424365
• eBook ISBN: 9781526451576
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Lavoro in ambito sociale

This practical book looks at the experiences of children in need who live in state care and the social worker?s role in working with them. This is a popular guide to this complex and demanding area of practice. There are chapters on communication and children?s rights, life story work, attachment and culture, ethnicity and faith. Throughout the book there are sections on supporting legislation and policy for children in residential care, foster care, adoption and leaving care. 

Key features include:

• Practical links between theory and practice
• Includes law and policy relevant to looked-after children
• Information on understanding statistics
• Contains lots of practical activities

1: Policy and Statistics

Achieving a Social Work Degree

This chapter will help you develop the following capabilities from the Professional Capabilities Framework (2018):

• 5. Knowledge
• 8. Contexts and organisations

See Appendix 1 for the Professional Capabilities Framework Fan and a description of the nine domains.

It will also introduce you to the following standards as set out in the Social Work Subject Benchmark Statement (2016):

• 5.3 Values and ethics:
• 5.6 The leadership, organisation and delivery of Social Work services

See Appendix 2 for a detailed description of these standards.

In addition, this chapter will help you develop your understanding of the following Knowledge and Skills Statements (2014):

• 5. Abuse and neglect of children
• 6. Child and family assessment

See Appendix 3 for a detailed description of the Knowledge and Skills Statements (2014).

Introduction

This chapter focuses on the development of government policy in relation to looked after children and will help you to understand the way in which policy and legislation in this area of practice have been informed by the children’s rights agenda plus findings from research about the experiences and circumstances of looked after children. Invariably, children’s experiences of the care system have been shaped by and have shaped the policy and legislative landscape. This chapter will advance your knowledge of how social policy in this area of practice has evolved; how this is influenced by society’s views about childhood, adolescence and the family; about the protection and vulnerability of children; and views about parents’ and children’s rights.

Berridge (2012) discusses the relationship between research, policy development and the use of pilot projects to introduce new initiatives. He argues that although governments have stated their commitment to policy-making based on research evidence, that promise has been largely unfulfilled (p28). He refers to Weiss (1999, in Berridge, 2012) who argues that social scientists are naive if they believe that policy making is mainly influenced by research rather than a broader range of competing interests, ideologies, other information and institutional constraints (p29). Policy-making is therefore most likely to be influenced by an amalgam of priorities and findings, one of which is research and lessons from front-line practice.

Public policy-making with regard to looked after children often arouses strong feelings, and differing political views influence policy directions and social work practice. For example, a policy area focused on by the previous Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government was in relation to reducing the time it takes to adopt and simplifying the process (see Chapter 12). They also developed a range of policies to improve the quality of care for looked after children (Department for Education, 2015a, 2015b). Their commitment to cutting bureaucracy and streamlining processes to enable front-line social workers to make professional judgements which are based on a sound knowledge base and informed by research evidence links also with the Munro Review of Child Protection (Munro, 2011). We will return to consider policy developments for looked after children later in the chapter. This will include current issues of concern namely: how disproportionate numbers of children in care have been identified at risk of child sexual exploitation (Shuker, 2013); risks and vulnerabilities of looked after young people in relation to involvement in gangs and youth crime (Kintrea et al., 2008); in terms of radicalisation (Lynch, 2013; Stanley and Guru, 2015) and the risks and opportunities afforded by social media (Fursland, 2011).

The chapter starts by outlining statistical data about who looked after children are, and then goes on to chart the main policy milestones in relation to looked after children, showing how they have influenced practice and the concept of ‘corporate parenting’. Having a statistical overview about the looked after children population is important as it provides practitioners with key information about changes and trends and how they link to practice developments.

Who is a looked after child?

A looked after child can be voluntarily accommodated by the local authority through parental request or can be looked after and subject to a care order (see Chapter 2). Local authority duties towards looked after children are detailed in specialist law textbooks including Carr and Goosey (2017) and Johns (2017). When children are voluntarily looked after those with parental responsibility can remove the child/ren from the accommodation at any time, without prior notice being required. Although no notice of removal is required, if there are concerns about the child’s welfare, applying for an emergency protection order should be considered (Carr and Goosey, 2017). As social workers, we are always required to work in partnership with parents and carers with the aim of building respectful and professional relationships with key family members, remembering to keep the child at the centre of the work. The KSS standard (2) refers to the importance of this and places it under the heading of communication: Act respectfully even when people are angry, hostile and resistant to change. Manage tensions between parents, carers and family members, in ways that show persistence, determination and professional confidence (see KSS, Appendix 3, page 285).

Definitions and terminology

The term ‘looked after child’ was introduced with the Children Act 1989 and is defined in section 22(1) of the Act, where it is stated that the term ‘looking after’ applies to children who are the subject of care orders and those children who are accommodated.

In terms of terminology should it be ‘looked after children’ or ‘children in care’? As stated by Johns (2017), using the term ‘in care’ is not legally correct as the Children Act 1989 introduces the notion of children being accommodated or looked after rather than being in ‘care’ (p55). Although in everyday practice this term is often used by both professionals and young people who are looked after, it is also used in some government policy documents, for example in the White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change (DfES, 2007) where the requirement for all local authorities to have children in care councils was set out. Given that both terms are used – looked after children and children in care – in this book we also use both terms interchangeably depending on the context of the discussion and taking into account the terms young people themselves use.

Terminology and meanings in relation to looked after children in Scotland are different. The legislation governing practice with looked after children in Scotland is the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and although there are similarities between the Children Act 1989 which underpins practice in England and Wales and the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, there are also some significant differences. These are especially in relation to a distinctive system used only in Scotland, which is called the children’s hearing system (Hothersall, 2014). Thus in Scotland, a child who is referred to the children’s hearing system may become the subject of a formal supervision requirement and will be referred to as looked after by the local authority even though they may continue to live at home with their own family (Hothersall, 2008, p90). Details of the terms used within the Scottish legal system pertaining to looked after children are detailed in Hothersall (2008).

Who are looked after children? Statistical data

Statistical data about the profile of looked after children is collected and produced annually by the Department for Education (2017) and is available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664995/SFR50_2017-Children_looked_after_in_England.pdf

The statistical information is very clearly set out with good analysis regarding overall trends with respect to the annual increase in numbers of children being looked after, trends in adoption, reasons for children entering and leaving the care system, placement types and placement moves plus data regarding the age, ethnicity and gender of looked after children over each year. Overall, the trends reported demonstrate the fluidity and diversity of the looked after children population. These statistics will help you to gain an overview of who looked after children are, how long children remain looked after, their destinations, and while they are looked after, their placement types. It will give you a framework, which will aid your understanding of the range of issues discussed in the following chapters. Some of the statistics directly report on the numbers of looked after children in specific groups, whereas other data directly links to government priorities: for example, placement stability, which research has also identified as central to the emotional and psychological well-being of looked after children (see Chapters 8 and 9). An overarching key trend is the continued increase in the numbers of children looked after (Department for Education, 2017).

Activity 1.1

Click on the link below which will take you to the statistical tables and identify some of the key findings which relate to your practice. You may have found some of the key points listed below or identified additional information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664995/SFR50_2017-Children_looked_after_in_England.pdf

Comment

The following statistical data relates to the period ending 31 March 2017 (DfE, 2017), and it shows that:

• At 31 March 2017 there were 72,670 looked after children, an increase of 3 per cent on 2016 (DfE, 2017, p1). There were 7,150 more looked after children compared to 31 March 2011 when there were 65,520 children looked after.
• In 2016 the number of adoptions fell by 12 per cent and fell again by 8 per cent in 2017 to 4,350. This is a change from the period 2011–15 when there was an increase in children leaving care for adoption and there was a peak of 5,360 adoptions (DfE, 2017, p1).
• Looked after children are predominantly white. Sevety-five per cent of looked after children at 31 March 2017 were white, 9 per cent were of mixed ethnicity, 7 per cent were black or black British, 5 per cent were Asian or Asian British (DfE, 2017, p5).
• There has been an increase in the number of looked after children who were unaccompanied asylum-seeking children with an increase of 6 per cent compared to last year, up to 4,560 from 4,300 in 2016, and up 134 per cent from 1,950 in 2013 (DfE, 2017a, p6).
• Most children are looked after under the legal status of a care order with annual decreases in voluntary accommodation (DfE, 2017, p8).
• Most children are placed in foster placements (74 per cent) with 17 per cent fostered by a relative or friend (p8). The reasons for children being looked after are similar to data from 2016 with 66 per cent (44,600 children) looked after due to abuse or neglect, 15 per cent (11,150) due to family dysfunction, 8 per cent (6,030) family in acute stress and 7 per cent (5,100) absent parenting (DfE, 2017, p7).

From 2014 data has been gathered regarding children who have started to be looked after who had left care under a permanence arrangement (adoption, special guardianship order or child arrangements order). The numbers are small but show that in the year ending March 2017, 620 children, (2%) re-entered care from a previous permanent placement; 240 had had a special guardianship order, 200 had been adopted and 180 had a residence order or child arrangements order.

(DfE, 2017, p11)

Additional tables are available regarding placement type, location and duration, plus information about health, substance misuse and offending rates. This shows that there was a slight decrease in the number of looked after children with a special guardianship order, from a peak of 3,860 in 2016 to 3,690 in 2017. 53% of these children had a special guardianship order made to former foster carers and 47% had a special guardianship order made to carers other than former foster carers (DfE, 2017).

As part of the Department for Education (2014) Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, service developments for adolescents at risk and the rising numbers of children over ten years old becoming looked after are discussed alongside the cost and service challenges for local authorities (p6). Data for this cohort showed that in 2012 there were 56 per cent in this group rising to 62 per cent in 2017 and that late arrivals into care often bring with them complex needs (p6). There are also differences identified in relation to the complexity of needs and reasons for entering care for looked after young people who are 14 years old compared to younger children: for 14 year olds only 42% of entries to care … are due to abuse or neglect, while 45% are accounted for by a mixture of acute family stress, family dysfunction and socially unacceptable behaviour (p13). There are many reasons why the highest numbers of looked after children are 10–15 year olds – not least because many of these young people have grown up in care – whereas there is far greater movement and fluidity in the 0–5 years group of children who are looked after which can be linked to the government’s emphasis on permanency through adoption or special guardianship.

Activity 1.2

Numbers of looked after children are continuing to rise. Think about reasons why this might be happening?

Comment

You may be reflecting on factors like improvements to social work practice and multi-agency working, for example multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASH) and children at risk being identified more quickly due to improved information-sharing systems and protocols. Other research (Bywaters, 2016; Bywaters et al., 2018) question the impact of poverty and austerity on families and argue that data about the circumstances of looked after children should also show statistics about their parents’ circumstances including in relation to family structure and socio-economic status. The Child Welfare Inequalities Project (CWIP) (Bywaters et al., 2015) identified some important findings across the whole of the UK about inequality and social work interventions for children and families, and how children from poor neighbourhoods were more likely to be subject to a child protection plan or be looked ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Series Editor’s Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• 1: Policy and Statistics
• 2: The Legal Framework
• 3: Pathways and Placement Types
• 4: Assessment, Care Planning and Contact
• 5: Communication Skills: Participation, Children’s Rights and Life Story Work
• 6: Diversity and Equality
• 7: Disabled Children
• 8: Attachment, Adversity and Resilience
• 9: Looked After Children and Mental Health
• 10: Education of Looked After Children
• 11: Health of Looked After Children
• 12: Adoption and Permanence
• 13: Leaving Care
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Appendix
• Appendix
• References
• Index