tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/care-system-21037/articlesCare system – The Conversation2023-12-06T15:53:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182062023-12-06T15:53:41Z2023-12-06T15:53:41ZUniversal basic income: Wales is set to end its experiment – why we think that’s a mistake<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563366/original/file-20231204-19-2f6mm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C3841&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Welsh UBI for care leavers pilot runs until 2025 and won't be extended beyond that date. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-hand-taking-british-money-uk-2328478975">Alex Segre/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Welsh government has <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/wales-not-continue-paying-care-27990859">announced</a> that its universal basic income (UBI) project will not be continued after the initial pilot ends in 2025 because of the cost.</p>
<p>The trial involved paying monthly payments of £1,600 each to a group of 635 care leavers. The scheme, which began in 2022, was offered to all young people leaving the care system at the age of 18.</p>
<p>The scheme has yet to be fully evaluated, but initial feedback has been positive. And given <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n193">the success</a> of many similar projects around the world, there is a good chance it will have significantly improved the wellbeing of the participants, who are a particularly vulnerable group.</p>
<p>If the pilot were to be expanded, we could learn more about the long-term impacts of UBI and its advantages across the population, including whether it could actually save money. But not continuing the scheme risks squandering these potential benefits and losing the momentum that might make it possible for UBI to be rolled out more widely. And all before we even know how successful the pilot has been.</p>
<p>A UBI is a sum of money that is periodically paid to all people equally and unconditionally. Many of its advocates <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032329213483106">argue</a> that because it provides people with a stable income, it allows them to focus on personal development, family life, education and their contribution to society instead of worrying about money. </p>
<p>However, some of its opponents <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/100137b4-0cdf-11e8-bacb-2958fde95e5e">argue</a> that UBI is too expensive to implement, discourages people from working and that people should not have something for nothing. </p>
<p>Wales contends with high and long-standing levels of poverty, with some areas having the <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/poverty-wales-2020">highest</a> in the UK. That has been <a href="https://phwwhocc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PHW-Cost-of-Living-report-Eng-04_10_23.pdf">exacerbated</a> by the economic fallout of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>Some vulnerable groups are particularly affected by poverty. Among those are care leavers, who tend to face <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cfs.12421">challenges</a> such as lower educational attainment, higher health and housing needs, substance misuse and an increased risk of committing crime – all of which can cost the state.</p>
<p>The Welsh government’s UBI pilot was launched to address the particular challenges faced by young people leaving local authority care or foster care and transitioning into adulthood. It runs until May 2025 with the final evaluation, <a href="https://cascadewales.org/research/the-welsh-basic-income-evaluation/">conducted</a> by Cardiff University, expected in 2027. </p>
<p>The pilot was recently <a href="https://nation.cymru/news/praise-for-basic-income-pilot-for-care-leavers/">praised</a> by Wales’ minister for social justice, Jane Hutt, who described receiving “fantastic feedback” from participants. Indeed, the programme’s provisional uptake rate of 97% surpasses that of any other opt-in UBI scheme globally. </p>
<p>There has also been international <a href="https://www.wcpp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Basic-Income-Conference-Highlights-Pack.pdf">interest</a> in the Welsh pilot from experts in Europe and Canada. And other <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20499736-seed_preliminaryanalysis-seedsfirstyear_finalreport_individualpages-2">pilots</a> from across the world, including the <a href="https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/">USA</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/07/finnish-basic-income-pilot-improved-wellbeing-study-finds-coronavirus#:%7E:text=The%20researchers%2C%20who%20conducted%2081,loneliness%20than%20the%20control%20group">Finland</a>, have shown how a UBI improves wellbeing, including improved mental and physical <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n193">health</a>. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-universal-basic-income-pilots-havent-led-to-policy-change-despite-their-success-180062">no country</a> has ever introduced a UBI despite those many examples. This has been largely because of the perceived costs and public opinion about giving people money for nothing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-universal-basic-income-pilots-havent-led-to-policy-change-despite-their-success-180062">Three reasons universal basic income pilots haven't led to policy change – despite their success</a>
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<p>Wales’ first minister, Mark Drakeford, appeared to be open to a more permanent place for a UBI in <a href="https://record.senedd.wales/Plenary/12457#C382219">October 2021</a> before the project was launched: “Our pilot … will give us valuable information for the future about how the concept of basic income could apply to other groups more widely across the Welsh population.” </p>
<p>Launching the scheme <a href="https://www.gov.wales/wales-pilots-basic-income-scheme">in 2022</a>, Drakeford described it as “radical”. And Jane Hutt said it was “globally ambitious” and the cost-of-living crisis meant “new ways of supporting people who are most in need” were necessary.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">First Minister Mark Drakeford launches the Welsh care leavers UBI pilot in 2022, describing it as “radical” and “innovative”.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Economic concerns</h2>
<p>Two years on and the Welsh government is now concerned about the cost of a UBI. It says that its <a href="https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-welsh-government-response-uk-autumn-statement-2023">own budget</a> has seen real term cuts in recent years. </p>
<p>Despite this, its decision not to roll the programme out beyond the end of the pilot is a missed opportunity, in our view. The evaluation from the Welsh pilot is likely to provide crucial insights into the impact of UBI on various aspects of care leavers’ lives. This should help to inform future policy and practise for other parts of the social security system too. </p>
<p>Given the multiple challenges faced by care leavers, the long-term benefits of poverty reduction and improved wellbeing appear likely to outweigh the economic concerns. For example, <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/10/e075831">recent research</a> in the UK has shown that UBI could substantially improve mental health in young people and therefore reduce the costs to the NHS. And this could extend well beyond care leavers – which we could find out if the project was expanded.</p>
<p>But our worry now is that the results from this pilot will simply be shelved, just like all the others across the globe. There will be a Senedd election in May 2026 and by the time the results of the pilot’s evaluation are due in 2027, the political landscape will have moved on once more.</p>
<p>There’s a danger that because the project is not being extended beyond the pilot, the results from the upcoming evaluation will be too easy to ignore and forget. Instead, Wales should capitalise on the insights gained from this pilot to fully establish just how transformative UBI could be in empowering vulnerable people and foster a more prosperous, equitable and resilient future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A UBI pilot in Wales gives a sum of money to young people leaving the care system. But it won’t be rolled out beyond its trial period.Hefin Gwilym, Lecturer in Social Policy, Bangor UniversityDave Beck, Lecturer in Social Policy, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1270552020-08-17T11:14:54Z2020-08-17T11:14:54ZHush money? How compensation can leave child abuse survivors with mixed feelings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352504/original/file-20200812-24-yj0rum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=214%2C58%2C6300%2C4278&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The process can be stressful and traumatic for survivors.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tired-older-woman-sitting-on-comfortable-1530933881">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this year the ruling body for the Church of England voted in favour of compensating survivors who had been sexually abused by members of the clergy. This means the church could be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/12/church-of-england-may-have-to-payout-millions-to-child-sexual-abuse">forced to pay out</a> £200 million as “redress” to thousands of victims.</p>
<p>This is just one of a number of high-profile cases making payouts for historic abuse <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/25/over-46m-paid-to-survivors-of-abuse-at-lambeth-childrens-homes">over recent years</a>. In the majority of cases, this money – usually referred to as financial redress – comes from the government. Sometimes, churches or voluntary organisations, for example, may be required to contribute to the payout if the abuse occurred at homes run or overseen by them.</p>
<p>But as my <a href="http://digitool.lib.strath.ac.uk/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33578">recent research</a> highlights, victims and survivors often tend to have mixed views about the idea of financial compensation.</p>
<h2>Recognition of suffering</h2>
<p>My study involved in-depth interviews with victims and survivors of historic abuse in Scotland. The people I interviewed saw both the potential benefits but also the harm that monetary payments could lead to. </p>
<p>Overwhelmingly, victims and survivors felt that compensation was a right. It was viewed as a way of appropriately supporting people adversely affected throughout the course of their lives as a result of the abuse that they had experienced. As well as being a way of offering practical support, financial compensation was also seen as an acknowledgement of what these people had suffered.</p>
<p>Some of the people I spoke with were quite clear that, rather than injecting large financial sums <a href="https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/about-us/costs/">into other processes</a> such as inquiries, money should go directly to the victims and survivors so that they may practically benefit. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Middle aged man looking upset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352752/original/file-20200813-22-n7eny8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many of the people I spoke to felt uncomfortable about the idea of ‘compensation’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/serious-man-thinking-about-something-195505010">spixel/shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But despite these perceived benefits, many were concerned as to what the meaning of the payment would actually be for them. This was particularly the case among a number of people who had experienced sexual abuse. Some saw payments as holding very negative connotations. </p>
<p>One person I spoke with told me how they felt that compensation was the government’s way of saying: “as a child you were a good prostitute and … this is the payment, albeit 40 years delayed. Now can you please go away and not bother us anymore.”</p>
<p>Some people I spoke to also considered payments to be a form of “shut-up money” and questioned whether it was appropriate to place a value or a price on someone’s abuse. Others worried that giving large sums of money to victims and survivors could lead to more harm than good, particularly when some remained vulnerable with drug and alcohol dependencies.</p>
<h2>Impact of compensation</h2>
<p>These mixed views on compensation expressed by victims and survivors are mirrored by research carried out <a href="https://www.transcript-verlag.de/media/pdf/48/a6/36/ts3918_1.pdf">in other countries</a>. Such findings suggest that while financial compensation should be offered, there needs to be more of an understanding of the impact of such payments.</p>
<p>Although these compensation schemes cannot necessarily cater to the specific needs of everyone, it’s still really important for victims and survivors to know from the outset that accessing compensation could be a complex experience. This is why the government and people who work with victims and survivors of abuse need to be clear about the potential for negative outcomes. </p>
<p>At the very least, victims and survivors should know that receiving compensation may not offer them closure. And that they may be left with further upset and in need of extra support.</p>
<p>This is important given victims and survivors have already experienced a <a href="https://www.celcis.org/files/1415/1549/1939/2017_Vol_16_3_Karim_S_Reporting_abuse.pdf">lack of power and control</a> - so it’s only right that any response takes into account how the workings of power may further impact those who suffered while in care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samina Karim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While financial compensation should be offered, there needs to be more understanding of the impact of such payments.Samina Karim, Lecturer in Social Work, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1414102020-06-25T13:37:58Z2020-06-25T13:37:58ZHow young black people in care made their voices heard<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344021/original/file-20200625-33550-ko05k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C5%2C3459%2C2615&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-white-portrait-young-girl-1143751607">Ahturner/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rediscovery of the UK’s black histories is long overdue. This includes the lives of young black people in care. Their story reflects the historical struggles of other black groups in making themselves heard – a struggle which underlies the current Black Lives Matter protests.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/scwru/swhn/bulletin/2015/Bulletin-of-the-SWHN-2015-2(2).pdf">My research</a> has examined how black lives in care became visible, as part of a <a href="https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/care-less-lives(e7a47b5c-afff-46bb-9f2e-d2fabbcd9c23)/export.html">wider history</a> of the rights movement of young people in care in England from 1973 to 2010. </p>
<p>Before 1980, the experiences of black children in care were hidden from history. There was no official data collected by local authorities or government, no research into their experiences and little recognition of their culture and heritage. </p>
<p>In 1979 a collective voice was given to young people in care with the establishment of their own rights organisation, the National Association of Young People in Care (NAYPIC). This was set up by <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dy3PRbCTkbcC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=National+Association+of+Young+People+in+Care+(NAYPIC)&source=bl&ots=GDjPyppR2m&sig=ACfU3U1Tg7JhvrlFj6FjLkre1vX09F9Bug&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3v6HV2pzqAhWNfMAKHel2DqUQ6AEwB3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=National%20Association%20of%20Young%20People%20in%20Care%20(NAYPIC)&f=false">young people in care themselves</a>, and membership was only open to young people in care and care leavers under 25. </p>
<p>From then onwards, black young people came together with other young people to talk about their lives, raise awareness and campaign to challenge the “colour prejudice” they encountered.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344024/original/file-20200625-33511-1lclakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Black Lives Matter protest in London, 31 May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-may-31-2020-black-1745602121">Ben Thornley/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In 1982 the House of Commons set up an <a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/feb/24/children-in-care">Inquiry into Children in Care</a> in response to serious concerns about how they came into care and were looked after. NAYPIC presented wide-ranging evidence, including proposals on “Race and Care”. The voices of black young people were being heard by Parliament for the very first time. Parliament was told that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being in care is bad enough, but being black and in care is twice as bad … Being black and brought up white, I don’t fit into black or white society. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Theirs were not the only black voices. The evidence of the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t981DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=Association+of+Black+Social+Workers+and+Allied+Professions&source=bl&ots=fN95TyIJam&sig=ACfU3U06xSj-QcTKilkNmXlrLzV0p6bhKg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilheyI3pzqAhWJXsAKHV0sDpoQ6AEwBXoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=Association%20of%20Black%20Social%20Workers%20and%20Allied%20Professions&f=false">Association of Black Social Workers and Allied Professions</a> emphasised the ongoing impact of colonialism, something which is once again being highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The most valuable resource of any ethnic group is its children. Nevertheless black children are being taken from black families by the process of the law and being placed in white families. It is in essence “internal colonialism” and a new form of the slave trade, but only black children are used. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Widespread failings</h2>
<p>Evidence presented to the 1982 Inquiry included two surveys which showed for the first time that children from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds were significantly overrepresented in care, and children of mixed heritage alarmingly so. This highlighted social services’ failure to engage with black families. The evidence included the statement that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Child care officers were known in the West Indian community as ‘Farewell Workers’, as once they became involved in a family it was ‘farewell’ to the children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 1984, NAYPIC collaborated with the Children’s Legal Centre to organise a national conference for black young people and black social workers, to find out more about their lives in children’s homes and foster care, and after leaving care. A Black and In Care steering group was set up to organise the event. But they were met with a storm of hostility from much of the media for only inviting black young people and workers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were called black racists, black activist guerrillas and Trotskyites … but we didn’t want young people to be inhibited from having their say in front of white social workers and carers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The conference saw black young people talking freely about their lives, some for the first time since entering care, and about a white care system that often failed them. These failures included neglect of their culture and heritage and ignorance about their diet, health, hair and skin care. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344029/original/file-20200625-33511-usjhsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 1984 conference highlighted that care workers did not know how to correctly care for black children’s hair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-african-hairstylist-braided-hair-afro-1258021516">Okrasiuk/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>They reported a lack of black and minority ethnic social workers, foster carers and workers in children’s homes. Care workers failed to combat racism within care, ignored the identity issues for young people of mixed parentage, and had little understanding of the problems faced by young people brought up “white” returning to their black families and communities. </p>
<h2>Changes in law</h2>
<p>By 1986, the struggles of young black people and black workers had laid the foundation stones for changes in law, policy and practice. These included, for the first time, a requirement under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents">Children Act 1989</a> that local authorities when making decisions in respect of children in care had to take into account “religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background”.</p>
<p>They also highlighted the importance of collecting official data and research on ethnicity, and for anti-racist policies and practices to address the range of issues voiced above by black young people. </p>
<p>These changes were a watershed, as they meant black children were no longer hidden from history. But echoes from the past still haunt the present. From the early 1980s, black and mixed heritage children have consistently been <a href="https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/11152/1/DCSF-RR124.pdf">overrepresented</a> in care. </p>
<p>After 40 years, it is surely time to face up to the <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/CWI%20Article%202%20online%20version.pdf">research evidence</a> on inequality and structural racism. Firstly, children coming into care often come from poverty. Secondly, black children are greatly overrepresented in care because they are the most overrepresented ethnic group in the areas of highest poverty and deprivation. </p>
<p>We must address these structural issues to reduce rather than reinforce existing inequalities – inequalities which have an enormous impact on the life chances of black children and young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Stein is a member of the Labour Party</span></em></p>Before 1980, the experiences of black children in care were hidden from history.Mike Stein, Emeritus Professor, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/852942018-04-26T08:35:27Z2018-04-26T08:35:27ZMuslim foster child row shows more faith must be put in the care system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189025/original/file-20171005-9767-3qkhq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Foster carers are becoming scarcer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a strongly-worded rebuke, Britain’s press regulator has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43887481">ruled</a> that The Times newspaper “distorted” its coverage of a five-year-old Christian girl who was placed with Muslim foster carers. </p>
<p>The coverage attracted much criticism, for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2017/sep/15/muslim-foster-care-row-press-responsibility">careless reporting</a>, of trading on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/04/newspapers-trade-muslim-baiting-christian-girl-muslim-foster-care">“Muslim baiting”</a> and of portraying a <a href="https://twitter.com/MishalHusainBBC/status/902108616513204224">clash of civilisations</a>. I am more concerned about the effect of such reporting on social workers and foster carers. </p>
<p>Already, Muslim carers are not coming forward in sufficient numbers. The scaremongering of this row could make things worse: it could further discourage Muslims from coming forward to become foster carers. Nobody wants to take on a complex and difficult job only to face accusations of imposing their beliefs on vulnerable children.</p>
<p>This little girl’s story first appeared in late August 2017, when The Times carried a <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/christian-child-forced-into-muslim-foster-care-by-tower-hamlets-council-3gcp6l8cs">front page story</a> about the girl, saying she’d been “forced” to live with Burka-clad, non-English speaking Muslim foster carers. The article said her foster parents insisted she learn Arabic, removed her crucifix necklace and dismissed her faith as “silly”. </p>
<p>Tower Hamlets council stated in response that the girl was from a family that had <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41101558">a non-practising Muslim background</a> and that due to the unavailability of a culturally-matched placement she was placed in the temporary care of a mixed-race family. In early October, during a hearing about the case in east London, it was revealed that the girl – who was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/02/girl-had-warm-relationship-with-muslim-foster-carers-court-told">subsequently</a> placed with her non-practising Muslim grandmother – had a “warm relationship” with her foster carers and that she <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/02/christian-girl-5-misses-muslim-foster-carers-court-hears/">was “missing them”</a>. </p>
<p>Subsequently, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41833590">redacted version</a> of a report by Tower Hamlets council showed that although the girl’s case was complicated, it was nowhere near that reported by The Times. After Tower Hamlets complained, the Independent Press Standards Organisation ruled that the newspaper’s coverage was completely distorted. The Times published the ruling on its front page on April 25. </p>
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<h2>Don’t make foster carers’ jobs any harder</h2>
<p>My fear is about the long-term impact of this type of journalism on the lives and futures of the most vulnerable children in British society. Such scaremongering harms social work professionals, fails foster carers and makes their already difficult jobs much harder. Social workers are already over-burdened by layers of red tape which is fuelled by a desire to “watch their backs”. This distracts from the only purpose of children’s social work: to prioritise the needs of the child above all else. We cannot afford to make their already difficult jobs any harder.</p>
<p>From my ongoing <a href="http://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-directories/current-projects/2017/among-the-last-ones-to-leave/">research</a> on the journeys of Muslim children through the British care system, my colleagues and I know that these children wait the longest to be placed in long-term, secure and loving foster placements and often have to be moved many times. </p>
<p>Social workers try to match children with homes that have a similar cultural heritage to their own. But if this isn’t possible – given the <a href="https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/media-release-news/2016/over-9000-more-fostering-households-urgently-needed-during-2016">national shortage of foster carers</a> – they may be placed in homes that have a different heritage. In either case, foster carers are trained to meet children’s needs. They are then supervised by a legion of social workers who ensure that this is done. </p>
<h2>Listen to the child</h2>
<p>All foster carers are expected to meet the cultural and religious needs of the children who are placed with them. In our research, a Christian foster carer looking after two unaccompanied Muslim children who were seeking asylum spoke about buying <em>halal</em> food and seeking advice on religious practices from other Muslims, so that she could meet the needs of “her boys”. A Muslim foster carer looking after a Christian child spoke about celebrating Christmas so that the child’s faith needs were met. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189029/original/file-20171005-14086-j0f7rw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">All-inclusive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Data <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017">shows</a> that 82% of looked-after children in 2016-17 were above the age of five and 62% were over ten. By the age of five and certainly for teenagers, children’s identities have already been shaped by their life experiences and by the social contexts they were bought up in. If religion or a lack of it has been part of their lives, this will shape how they see themselves and want to live their lives. Best social work practice demands that before placing a child with a family and throughout the placement, professionals should hear and acknowledge their opinions on ethnicity, faith and belief.</p>
<p>In another case, a teenage Muslim woman who was taken into care a year ago told me about how her younger brothers were placed in Sikh and Hindu homes while she was placed in a Muslim home. While all three children were cared for, her brothers were lonely and sad on Muslim festivals, whereas she could celebrate with her foster family. The children were also sad to be separated from each other. They raised this with social workers and although she said it took more than a year and threats that they would run away, all three children are now placed together in a Muslim home.</p>
<p>In the care system, nothing is rosy or utopian. It cannot be. Vulnerable children with backgrounds of abuse, violence and, in the case of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, treacherous travel, are taken away from their homes to new homes that promise safety, security and normality. </p>
<p>In looking after these children, social work and foster care should be among the most respected and honoured of professions. Society must scrutinise it but also have more faith in the care system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor receives funding from Penny Appeal. </span></em></p>Britain’s press reulgator ruled that The Times distorted its coverage of a case about a Christian girl placed with Muslim foster carers.Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Research Fellow in Faith and Peaceful Relations at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/714442018-01-30T16:27:42Z2018-01-30T16:27:42ZWhat happens to mothers whose children are repeatedly taken into care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200786/original/file-20180104-26145-9wo56t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It hurts. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/home">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If a child is born to a woman who is addicted to drugs, the baby is often taken away from its mother. A new investigation by the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09qn2wh/panorama-addicted-last-chance-mums">BBC’s Panorama programme</a> looked at the struggle some of these women go through to get their babies back. </p>
<p>Helping these mothers is not only the right thing to do, it can help address the record numbers of children going into care. My ongoing research with vulnerable mothers, who’ve had one or more children taken into care, reveals how many are subsequently abandoned by the system. </p>
<p>The number of looked-after children has risen steadily <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664995/SFR50_2017-Children_looked_after_in_England.pdf">since the early 1990s</a>. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service reported a 64% increase in the <a href="https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/news/2014/may/national-picture-of-care-applications-in-england-for-2013-14.aspx">rate of care applications made</a> between 2008-9 and 2013-14 – up from 6,488 to 14,599. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article/44/7/1735/1718126/A-Marriage-Made-in-Hell-Early-Intervention-Meets">complex reasons behind the sharp rise</a>, though it followed the death in 2007 of “Baby P”, Peter Connelly, after months of abuse, despite numerous visits from authorities. His death placed a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11621391">spotlight on professionals</a> involved in child protection decisions. While local authorities responded with different strategies following the highly publicised case, all saw rises in care applications in subsequent years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201178/original/file-20180108-83563-pnul5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A marked increase in looked-after children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664995/SFR50_2017-Children_looked_after_in_England.pdf">Department for Education</a></span>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-children-are-more-likely-to-go-back-into-care-than-others-70181">Why some children are more likely to go back into care than others</a>
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</em>
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<p>The most common reason why children are removed from parents into care is neglect. This is often related to the underlying needs of the parents, who may have mental health problems, alcohol or drug disorders, or be in an abusive relationship. When a social worker or other professionals have safeguarding concerns around a pregnant woman, they may carry out a pre-birth assessment. If there is evidence that there is risk of significant harm to the unborn child, they can apply for a care order to remove the child from the mother shortly after birth. But it can vary depending where the mother lives, and different local authorities use different tools and timescales to assess these risks.</p>
<h2>Listening to mothers</h2>
<p>My research is highlighting <a href="http://shura.shu.ac.uk/13945/">how traumatic birth mothers</a> find the removal of their child, which often compounds multiple and complex problems. Women who had multiple pregnancies followed by the removal of each child experience a period of intense intervention from social services followed by a feeling of abandonment once the child is taken into care. </p>
<p>Most of the women I’ve spoken to are deprived in multiple ways. Some have been through the criminal justice system and are powerless to counter the decisions made by professionals involved in the removal of their children. Those mothers with a history of being in care themselves were also more likely to have their children removed. </p>
<p>One 33-year-old woman whose son was removed, and placed with a temporary foster family, just a few hours after birth told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m finding it hard … How am I gonna carry on without my boy? My heart’s broke … I’m not gonna get through it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>She was able to visit her son in a contact centre three times a week with supervised contact while waiting for a decision on the child’s future from the family court. This was her fifth child, the previous four were no longer in her care. Like other mothers that I spoke to she had experienced abuse as a child. She had also been the victim of severe domestic violence while she was pregnant, and was still in recovery from drug addiction. She told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I want to be a mum now, I just want to settle down and live my life with [him] … It’s me past, and I know I’ve got a horrendous past, but people can change, but it’s just giving me that chance to show that I’ve changed … I’m just not being given that chance … I’ll never stop being labelled because of my past.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One of the first attempts to measure the <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2015/research-reveals-family-court-recycles-one-in-three-young-mums/">scale of this issue in England</a> in 2015 found that in a sample of 7,143 women, 16% of birth mothers were caught in a cycle of repeat pregnancies and these women were linked to almost a third of all care applications. Researchers also found that a total of 22,790 children were connected to these mothers, because a birth mother was often linked to more than one child going through the system. </p>
<h2>A shift in child protection</h2>
<p>There are complex reasons behind these statistics. One factor has been the shift from <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09503153.2015.1014337?src=recsys">child welfare to child protection</a> which has changed the nature of social work. Rather than supporting children to remain within their families, the focus is on making parents who do not display acceptable behaviours more responsible, through risk assessments and interventions. </p>
<p>There is higher pressure from larger, more complex caseloads combined with a fear of getting things wrong – understandably so when major publicity accompanies this. As a result, social workers have less time to devote to each case and are more risk averse in their decision making. </p>
<p>A continued focus <a href="https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/1614/1/lister_children.pdf">on the child</a> rather than on supporting better parenting is not new, but it appears to contradict the efforts of the government’s <a href="http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7585">Troubled Families</a> programme which aims to support parents in those families with multiple problems, rather than having a strict focus on child protection. </p>
<p>Emerging projects are trying to prevent recurrent births and removals into care, but these solutions often focus on <a href="https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news/show/programme-to-support-suffolks-vulnerable-recurrent-mothers-shows-real-success">promoting long-term contraception</a> or <a href="http://www.projectprevention.org/united-kingdom/">sterilisation</a>. Such approaches raise many ethical questions, but also highlight a flaw in how the issue is being approached: it places little value on the life of the mother and her welfare.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71444/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article draws on the author's doctoral research and is funded by Sheffield Hallam University's Vice-Chancellor's PhD Studentship. This PhD is linked to the ESRC-funded 'Welfare Conditionality: Sanctions, Support and Behaviour Change' project. </span></em></p>It can be a destructive cycle for mothers whose children are taken into care.Larissa Povey, PhD Candidate, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/750372017-03-27T11:29:03Z2017-03-27T11:29:03ZHere is what’s needed to kickstart a fairer social care system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162266/original/image-20170323-4967-a4jlzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>As soon as Philip Hammond, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-budget-2017-experts-respond-73998">announced</a> an extra £2 billion for social care in his first budget in March, jostling began on how the money would be spent. </p>
<p>Care providers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/10/care-homes-says-extra-2bn-from-budget-must-go-to-frontline?utm_content=buffer3ebf3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">suggested</a> that the money could be held back by local authorities and might fail to make its way to frontline services. But care services on the frontline are increasingly run by large, for-profit providers, commissioned by local authorities. For the New Economics Foundation think-tank this <a href="http://neweconomics.org/2017/03/115m-budget-cash-social-care-will-go-investors-five-biggest-firms/">raised concerns</a> that the £2 billion would go “straight into the pockets” of big companies that have benefited from the increased incursion of the private sector into public service delivery. </p>
<p>The money is both necessary and welcome. Although details of how the money will be allocated are yet to be finalised, the Local Government Association <a href="http://www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/media-releases/-/journal_content/56/10180/8368113/NEWS">has urged</a> for councils to be given flexibility in how it is used. But the extra £2 billion clearly isn’t enough – it will just about cover wage increases associated with the introduction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-perfect-storm-the-coming-health-and-social-care-crisis-for-older-people-60761">living wage</a>, and has been introduced at a time of looming post-Brexit labour shortages. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39321579">Panorama investigation</a> revealed that the tightening of spending has already led to a proliferation of zero-hour contracts in the squeezed care sector and, alarmingly, an increasing number of care contracts being handed back to local authorities because of the financial challenges.</p>
<p>Some have <a href="https://reaction.life/finally-government-recognition-social-care-system-cannot-go/">suggested</a> the money could be used to provide a “breathing space” that enables the government to actually undertake significant reform of social care financing. But this could run the risk of focusing purely on finding a sustainable financial solution and so shore up a broken social care system in which the profits of private providers are prioritised over the delivery of personalised long-term care to those in need.</p>
<h2>Fairer care</h2>
<p>It is time to take stock and consider what we want social care to look like in the UK. A <a href="http://www.commissiononcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Web-Care-Comission-Towards-a-new-deal-for-care-and-carers-v1.0.pdf">report</a> we wrote for the Political Studies Association Commission on Care in 2016 made some specific recommendations about what a more socially inclusive, justice-centred care system would look like. This isn’t a system administered via a one-size approach aimed at maximising profits, but one that seeks to enable older people to live well into old age and to properly support those that care for them. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162368/original/image-20170324-12127-1scdgmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ageing with dignity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>The Commission on Care sought to collect evidence from across the sector and in particular sought to examine how social inequalities – notably those relating to gender and race – were being exacerbated by the care crisis. Women are “naturally” seen as the group most likely to have to step in and care for family members, neighbours and friends in need of care. This matters, because it appears that the ability of successive governments to cut social care spending reflects assumptions that a person’s family – and women in particular – will always step in to fill the social care gap.</p>
<h2>A National Care Service</h2>
<p>Our key recommendation was that the government should seek to establish a National Care Service that is free at the point of delivery, funded through general taxation, to give social care equal status with the NHS. This builds upon <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/oct/02/national-social-care-service-general-election">proposals</a> put forward by the Labour party during the 2010 election campaign. While life expectancy has risen, the amount of time people spend in ill-health towards the end of their lives has gone up, an issue that is invariably compounded by the significant declines in public and mental health spending. </p>
<p>The UK needs a preventative approach – one in which real commitments to ageing can better support people to live independently. Appropriate use of assistive technologies, such as devices that <a href="https://theconversation.com/telecare-is-more-than-just-technology-it-has-the-power-to-create-care-networks-for-older-people-70360">help monitor older people in difficulty</a>, or web link-ups with medical professionals, can play a role. As can preventative initiatives, including improving diet and exercise that reduce demands on social care in the future. But new technologies will not easily replace the important role of face-to-face care for older people.</p>
<p>All care recipients and their carers must be listened to if a National Care Service is developed, in order to help shape the delivery of the service. Minority ethnic communities must also have a voice here, as our research revealed that they are often overlooked in the design and delivery of adult social care.</p>
<p>There is an urgent need to professionalise and support the care workforce. We proposed the establishment of “Care First”, an initiative aimed at raising standards and pay across the sector. This could create better and more well-defined career pathways for care workers, and encourage them to stay in the workforce. </p>
<p>We also argued for the roll-out of specific measures to support unpaid carers – measures that would, for example, help with the provision of information about their care, enabling them to better navigate a complex care system and also providing better workplace protections for unpaid carers. Such initiatives are costly, but they also generate potential long-term savings and <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/genderInstitute/news/2015-16/WBG-CareEconomy-ITUC-briefing-final.pdf">wider economic benefits</a>. </p>
<p>Society needs to provide for older people – not only for economic reasons but in order to secure a fair and caring society where everyone gets the support they need, irrespective of their colour, class or creed. Even with Hammond’s latest budget promises, there is a considerable way to go in attaining this goal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75037/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juanita Elias receives funding from the Political Studies Association of the UK, the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirin M Rai received funding from the Political Studies Association UK and the Economic and Social Research Council UK.</span></em></p>An extra £2 billion for social care is a drop in the ocean.Juanita Elias, Associate Professor in International Political Economy, University of WarwickShirin Rai, Professor of Politics and International Studies, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/701812017-01-13T10:36:25Z2017-01-13T10:36:25ZWhy some children are more likely to go back into care than others<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152529/original/image-20170112-25850-qerurg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The care system: too much of a revolving door. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dan4th/2402329882/sizes/l">Dan4th/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year, local authorities in England act as corporate parents for the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/556331/SFR41_2016_Text.pdf">100,000 children who are placed in care</a>. One important responsibility a parent has to their child is to provide them with stability. This helps them to feel secure and to develop attachments with caregivers, as well as a sense of identity and belonging. </p>
<p>A lack of stability during childhood can affect normal cognitive and emotional development, and have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22201156">long-lasting negative consequences</a>. For children in care, achieving <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/children-in-care-to-get-stability-they-crave-q29xqtrkm">stability</a> often focuses on reducing the number of moves between foster carers or changes in social workers. What is less often considered is the process of leaving the care system.</p>
<p>Ideally, a child leaving the care system should move to a long-term, stable environment. But we know that some children become caught in a “revolving door”, with repeated entries and exits in and out of the system throughout their childhood. </p>
<p>To understand which groups of children in England are most likely to re-enter care, my colleagues and I have analysed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-looked-after-return-2016-to-2017-guide">administrative data from the Department for Education</a>. Overall, we found that <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213416302708">one-third of children re-entered care within five years of leaving it</a>. Our sample looked at 4,076 children who exited care in 2008. By 2013, more than 35% had re-entered it. </p>
<p>There are three factors which influence the likelihood of a child re-entering the care system: how they leave, their characteristics, and how stable the placement was in the first place. </p>
<h2>How a child leaves the system</h2>
<p>Children can leave the care system in England in a number of ways. The main ways are returning to their parents (with or without further supervision from social services) or being placed in a new family setting through adoption, residence or <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-guardianship-guidance">special guardianship orders</a>. </p>
<p>Our analysis found that the highest rate of re-entry to care was among children who were returned home to their parents (40% re-entered within five years) while children who exited through special guardianship or residence orders had much lower rates of re-entry. Because <a href="http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/07/12/ije.dyw117.full">it is not possible </a> to identify adoption breakdowns in the Department for Education’s administrative dataset, these children were not included in our analysis.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152537/original/image-20170112-25870-1wgf94d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Note: Data for 4,076 children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department for Education data.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Based on these figures, it would appear that residence and special guardianship orders represent a positive strategy for achieving permanent, stable homes for children exiting care. But when comparing rates of re-entry, it is important to remember that not all children are equally likely to exit care in these ways. </p>
<p>Children can only leave care through a residence or special guardianship order if there is a suitable and willing guardian available and the biological parent agrees to relinquish some of their rights. Children who meet these criteria may not be representative of all children in care. For example, there may be fewer people willing to become a special guardian for children with severe behavioural issues or complex health needs. </p>
<h2>Demographic characteristics</h2>
<p>Research on re-entry to care <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740906000363">in the US has shown that black children are more likely than others to re-enter care</a>. But when we analysed the data for England we found that white and mixed ethnicity children had the highest rate of re-entry. More than one third re-entered within five years compared to one quarter of black, Asian or other ethnicity children. </p>
<p>Older children were also more likely to experience the breakdown of an exit from care resulting in their return to the care system. Almost half of adolescents re-entered care within five years compared to one quarter of children aged between one and four. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152536/original/image-20170112-25884-rt6myt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Note: Data for 4,076 children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department for Education data.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Stability of care affects the stability of exits</h2>
<p>The dataset we analysed contained some information on the stability of care, including whether a child had left care previously, the number of placement moves and the average length of each placement. As <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911000193">in other studies</a>, we found that children who had less stable experiences in care had higher rates of re-entry. Children who had a single, stable placement in care were half as likely to re-enter as children who moved carer five or more times.</p>
<p>As a result of unstable placements while in care, children may have difficulty developing and maintaining relationships after they leave the system. For example, a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030857590402800403">study</a> involving interviews with older fostered and adopted children revealed how feelings of insecurity hindered their ability to develop close and trusting relationships with caregivers. </p>
<p>Another possible explanation is that unstable care may be an indicator for other issues that can also affect the stability of exits. Children who are the most challenging cases when entering care – for example, those who may have behavioural issues or complex health needs – may be more likely to move carers multiple times. </p>
<p>Many children leaving care <a href="http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2012/04/30/70-of-looked-after-children-who-return-home-arent-ready/">need additional support </a> or monitoring, such as ongoing care plans and home visits. To better understand which groups of children in England are most likely to re-enter care, I have developed <a href="https://louisemcgrathlone.com/tool/social-care-calculator.html">a free, online calculator that estimates the likelihood of re-entry</a>. Understanding which groups are most likely to re-enter care could help guide social workers and potentially reduce the risk of “revolving door” care experiences and the associated adverse effects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70181/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Mc Grath-Lone receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant reference number ES/L007517/1) which established the Administrative Data Research Centre for England (ADRC-E). The ADRC-E is led by the University of Southampton and run in collaboration with University College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). </span></em></p>Once a child has left care, their characteristics, the stability of their placement and how they left it influence their chances of re-entering the system.Louise Mc Grath-Lone, PhD candidate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/669412016-10-26T13:02:29Z2016-10-26T13:02:29ZWhy have so many people in prison spent time in care as children?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143105/original/image-20161025-4729-1o4uift.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">supawat bursuk/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The great majority of children in care do not commit criminal offences, yet there is a stubborn over-representation of care leavers in the criminal justice system. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/556331/SFR41_2016_Text.pdf">Less than 1% of the population have been in the care system</a>, yet a recent <a href="http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/care%20review%20full%20report.pdf">review chaired by Lord Laming</a> reports that about 50% of children in custody have been in care. This scandalous figure becomes particularly troubling when we consider that just 2% of children are in care specifically because of their own “socially unacceptable behaviour”, yet <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/556331/SFR41_2016_Text.pdf">60% are there because of traumatic abuse and neglect</a>. </p>
<p>While care leavers are not inevitably more likely to commit offences, there has been a persistent tendency to blame individuals for their over-representation in the justice system. Explanations often refer to the extremely “complex needs” of the “damaged” children who go into care, as well as the “serious failings” of their families. But such language simply perpetuates the stigma attached to being in care and serves to divert attention away from the serious failings in some parts of our care and criminal justice systems. </p>
<p>Recent research highlights <a href="http://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/HLWP_14_2014.pdf">failings</a> at various levels of the system – including the unnecessary criminalisation of some children in care for minor offences which would not have led to police involvement for children living at home with their own parents. A <a href="http://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Criminal-Care.pdf">report by the Howard League for Penal Reform</a> noted that this was a particular issue for those living in children’s homes, who were being criminalised at excessively high rates compared to all other groups of children. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/143103/original/image-20161025-4738-ut6hi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Criminalised too young.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kpporasite/www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="http://scyj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ICRFINAL.pdf">Standing Committee for Youth Justice has also noted</a> that the childhood criminal records system in England and Wales was one of the most punitive when compared to 15 other countries and regions. There is no means to “wipe” a criminal record acquired in childhood in England and Wales, and there are few ways to prevent the disclosure of relatively minor cautions and convictions. The consequences of unnecessarily criminalising vulnerable children in care therefore is that they may be bound to the mistakes of their past in a way that is simply not the case in other countries. And as the <a href="http://www.esytc.ed.ac.uk/">Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions</a> has shown, once in the justice system, young people are far more likely to return to it. </p>
<h2>Letting children down</h2>
<p>These issues are compounded by the fact that different areas of the country may treat young people leaving care differently, with many still escalated to independence far earlier than their peers. In 2015, the <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Care-leavers-transition-to-adulthood.pdf">National Audit Office reported</a> that services supporting those young people leaving care had deteriorated for seven consecutive years due to financial cuts and poor management, with many still leaving care before the age of 18. </p>
<p>There also continues to be widespread concern about the chronic <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1155917/increasing-numbers-of-care-leavers-in-unsuitable-accommodation">shortage of appropriate accomodation</a> for care leavers. For those caught up in the criminal justice system, either in prison or supervised on probation in the community, there remains a real risk that they could slip through the gaps, failing to receive the support that they may be entitled to under <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/35/contents">leaving care legislation</a>, such as access to a personal advisor.</p>
<p>My own <a href="http://crj.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/07/14/1748895816659324.abstract">recent research</a> with Patrick Williams of Manchester Metropolitan University has highlighted a lack of knowledge about care issues in some parts of the criminal justice system, as well as a fear among some practitioners of even asking whether individuals have a history of being in care.</p>
<p>We examined a unique project for care leavers going through an <a href="http://www.offendersfamilieshelpline.org/index.php/intensive-alternative-to-custody-iac/">Intensive Alternative to Custody Order</a> in which offenders receive a community-based sentence, rather than a custodial one. The project, delivered by the <a href="http://www.careleavers.com/">Care Leavers’ Association</a> and known as “Clear Approach”, is a voluntary empowerment programme that aims to develop a supportive relationship with care leavers through one-to-one sessions as well as group work. But we identified various tensions in our interviews with practitioners working in one particular probation trust. Care leavers were frequently perceived as a “risky” client group and concerns about labelling and further stigmatising them actually inhibited efforts to identify them in the first place. This inevitably had a knock-on effect on who could be referred to benefit from a supportive and potentially empowering intervention. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/PSJ%20226%20July%202016.pdf">Ongoing work </a>that I have been involved in highlights a continuing lack of clarity in some areas over who has corporate parenting responsibility when children in care enter the justice system. This is the collective responsibility of a local authority, its employees and partner agencies to provide the best possible care for children who are looked after. Identification of “care leaver” status also remains a problem, not only for those supervised in the community, but also for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439859/moj-harris-review-web-accessible.pdf">those in custody who are at particular risk of being abandoned</a> by their local authority. </p>
<h2>Overwhelming evidence</h2>
<p>These issues are particularly pertinent given that a new <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmjust/169/16902.htm">report</a> published by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee argues that there is “overwhelming evidence” that the criminal justice system does not adequately address the distinct needs of young adults whose brains may still be developing up until the age of 25. </p>
<p>There are examples of good practice in some areas, as documented in the <a href="http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/care%20review%20full%20report.pdf">Laming Review</a>. For example, the <a href="http://scyj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SE_protocol_to_reduce_offending_and_criminalisation_of_children_in_care__final_28_March_2014.pdf">south east protocol</a> is a regional initiative aimed at avoiding the prosecution of children in care, and prioritising restorative responses to challenging behaviour</p>
<p>But practices such as these are not sufficiently widespread and the issues facing children in care and care leavers in the criminal justice system must now be seriously addressed in a far more consistent and sustainable way. Strong political leadership is required to ensure that those who have been in care are diverted from the criminal justice system wherever possible. At the same time, care leavers already in the justice system must receive the support that they are entitled to, and which they deserve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Fitzpatrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children in care are criminalised too early – and don’t receive the support they need.Claire Fitzpatrick, Lecturer in Criminology, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/655772016-09-21T10:05:46Z2016-09-21T10:05:46ZHuge cuts have made elder care today look like a relic of the Poor Law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138331/original/image-20160919-18705-zwtv0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eduard Darchinyan/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Older people and their families have been “left to fend themselves” as the social care system in the UK slips into an extreme crisis, according to a <a href="http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/field/field_publication_file/Social_care_older_people_Kings_Fund_Sep_2016.pdf">new report</a>. After years of warnings about major demographic change and rapidly rising need, including from people <a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/caring-our-future-what-service-users-say">using care services</a>, it is hardly surprising that the new research from the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust says the next five years “look bleak”. </p>
<p>Since 2010, governments have <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/11/david-cameron-policy-shift-leaner-efficient-state">explicitly committed themselves</a> to a smaller state, draconian public spending cuts in the name of “austerity” and swingeing reductions in local government budgets. </p>
<p>The social care system is clearly failing to meet the needs of older people and causing damage to them and their families. It is also badly damaging the NHS, which is now considered to be increasingly undermined by the failure of social care to ensure community support. As a result, there are problems of wasteful and damaging emergency re-admissions and “bed-blocking” – where elderly people <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/11/nhs-in-grip-of-worst-bed-blocking-crisis-on-record-figures-show/">remain in hospital</a> instead of receiving care.</p>
<p>Reductions in central government grants have put increasing pressure on companies and authorities who provide residential, domiciliary and nursing care services. This means social care is now dominated by a private sector which too often either isn’t working to best look after those who need it, or to make the profit the system now necessitates. The large care home provider Four Seasons Health Care is currently struggling under a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/27/four-seasons-health-care-reports-264m-annual-loss">mounting debt burden</a> and in June a <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmpubacc/74/7405.htm">committee of MPs</a> warned that “there is a real threat that many care providers will not survive” because financial conditions are unsustainable. </p>
<p>The King’s Fund report contributes detailed evidence from national data and local case studies showing just how bad things are. It says that over the past five years, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/13/vulnerable-adult-social-care-risk-england-councils-face-1bn-shortfall">local authority spending on care</a> for older and disabled people has fallen by 11% in real terms, and the number of people who received state-funded help had fallen by 26% despite the numbers needing it increasing. </p>
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<p>Public spending on adult social care is set to fall to less than 1% of GDP by 2020, with a predicted funding gap of £2.9 billion by 2019 and many councils struggling to meet basic statutory duties. One million people with care needs now receive no formal or informal help – a rise of <a href="https://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/doi?sn=5050#10">10% in one year alone</a>. The report also notes that over 40% of money paid to care homes came from people paying for themselves. </p>
<h2>Means-testing excludes too many</h2>
<p>The report’s authors rightly argue that “a frank and open debate is needed on how to fund health and social care on a sustainable basis into the future”. But this has to mean more than they seem prepared to say. It’s impossible to see how social care can be fit for purpose so long as it remains means and needs-tested like a relic of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/britishsociety/thepoorrev1.shtml">Poor Law</a> – the way society looked after the less well-off in the 19th century – as well as inadequately funded. </p>
<p>Under the current system, if you have assets or savings of <a href="http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/care-homes/social-care-funding-changes/care-cap-and-means-test-changes/">less than £23,250</a> then the government will help pay for the cost of your care. This means that only the poorest get help to pay for services, including help in the home for daily tasks such as washing and dressing, as well as round-the-clock support in care homes and nursing homes. </p>
<p>Means-testing is excluding more and more older and disabled people with support needs. Ever-narrowing eligibility criteria mean support is increasingly restricted to people in the most extreme situations who fall under the categories “critical” and “substantial”, undermining all efforts to build prevention into the system. </p>
<p>Plans to change the way means-testing is carried out <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33552279">have been delayed</a> until April 2020, when a sliding scale of support will be introduced for those with assets or savings of between £17,000 and £118,500. </p>
<h2>Fund social care like the NHS</h2>
<p>Before the recent cuts kicked in, there used to be <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/250486/0664.pdf">three broad groups</a> of older people: those well served by the social care system, those who fared less well, and those who needed its help but fell outside it. To that we can now add those better able through higher income or cultural capital to get the most out of social care, and those who – poorer and disadvantaged – do especially badly. </p>
<p>The rights and needs of hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people are being neglected and their difficulties left to worsen under a hopeless system of social care. But while the King’s Fund report says that older people are faring the worst from the poor state of social care, this ignores the plight of working age disabled people who are facing the double whammy of harsh and inefficient “welfare reform”, as well as severe cuts in social care support.</p>
<p>Adequate funding and real integration are only likely to come when social care services share the same funding base and principles as the NHS. This means a health and social care system jointly based on principles of universalism, funded by a progressive system of general taxation. Recent governments have seen this as an unrealistically costly option. But if they look at the financial and human costs for millions of the present unsustainable system, they might be convinced of the need for such fundamental reform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65577/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Beresford is a member of the Labour Party, and co-chair of a service user and disabled people's organisation and network Shaping Our Lives. </span></em></p>Too many older people are restricted from receiving state help for their care needs.Peter Beresford, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, Brunel University LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/478092015-10-01T05:34:36Z2015-10-01T05:34:36ZChildren in care need early help with emotional and behavioural problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96676/original/image-20150929-30967-162en6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Left scarred by going into care. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">greggsphoto/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine you’re eight, and you’ve just returned home from school. You always walk home because mummy doesn’t like going out, because she says it makes her feel as if she’s going to die. Your five and six-year-old brother and sister are with you, one on each hand. When you get to your front door, you shout your name several times through the letterbox before the door is opened. But your heart sinks when mummy starts talking funny, which means she’s drunk again. </p>
<p>Then a man and a woman who you’ve never seen before come storming through the door, accompanied by the police, and mummy goes into hysterics, screaming, shouting and spitting at them. Your little brother and sister are both screaming too, but you’re trying to be brave for both of them. Before you know it, you and your two siblings are being led out of the house, with your mum screaming in the background that they’re stealing her babies. You are put in a car and driven away.</p>
<p>This fictitious story is based on our many years’ experience researching the topic of children in care, and speaking directly to children and young people about how they enter the care system. Imagine how frightened and confused this child would be. In many of these cases, children are then separated from their siblings and placed with a foster family, but then <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34292394">moved from home to home</a> several times. Imagine the intense pain and fear caused by such a major upheaval. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/InstituteofChildCareResearch/filestore/Filetoupload,473903,en.pdf">In a recent study</a> that we conducted examining the lives of young people when they return home from care, it was the memory of first entering care that left the most indelible scar, especially if they were not properly informed at the time why they were being taken away from their parents.</p>
<h2>Living with trauma</h2>
<p>These traumatic experiences, combined with the years of abuse and neglect that many children will already have suffered prior to entering care, can lead to significant mental health difficulties. We have just completed a study called <a href="http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/mind-your-health-report-october-2015.pdf">Mind Your Health</a> examining the physical and mental health needs of looked-after children and young people in Northern Ireland. Of the 233 children and young people included in the study (approximately 10% of the total looked-after population in Northern Ireland), we found that 40% had been diagnosed with behavioural problems, 35% with emotional problems, and 21% with depression or anxiety. Many of the carers for these children were concerned at a lack of support and services to deal with these issues in a timely manner.</p>
<p>These fit with findings from <a href="http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/190/4/319">similar studies in the UK</a>, indicating that almost half the population of looked-after children and young people across the UK are struggling with their behaviour and emotions. </p>
<p>All this creates a huge challenge for social services. Just as evidence has shown that being in care <a href="http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/09/16/care-damaging-childrens-education-research-finds/">does not appear to damage a child’s education</a>, these high levels of behavioural and emotional problems are not an indictment of the care system. But it is the care system’s responsibility to address these problems when children enter that legal jurisdiction. </p>
<h2>Spotting problems early</h2>
<p>In order to treat these emotional and behavioural problems properly, it’s vital that interventions are made when problems are initially detected. This could involve screening all children entering the care system to pick up on particular problems and refer these for immediate attention. Interventions could also be arranged with young people at risk of entering the care system as teenagers, and to provide additional support to both foster carers and young people during the teenage years, when there is the greatest risk of placement breakdown.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96776/original/image-20150930-5809-h3th2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Get young people help early.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Meg Wallace Photography/www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Services also need to be made engaging and easily accessible for young people in care. This means reducing waiting lists, providing local outreach services, making information accessible, reducing social work staff turnover, and making sure professionals are available when needed. Foster care placements also need to be appropriately supported, especially those involving a child with complex needs. The stability of placements and a positive caring environment are crucial factors for promoting a child’s well-being.</p>
<p>To their credit, the government in Northern Ireland has begun to take a more preventative and early-interventionist approach in partnership with the US charity <a href="http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/">Atlantic Philanthropies</a>. They are providing <a href="http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/early_intervention_transformation_programme_eitp_newsletter_march_2015.pdf">£58m</a> to take forward an <a href="http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/early_intervention_transformation_programme">Early Intervention Transformation Programme</a>, with universal services geared towards supporting parents of babies and young children. Get these early relationships right, and you’re building a strong foundation and resilience in parents against the natural stresses of life that can push any one of us over the edge. </p>
<p>They have also developed a specific intervention called the Edges project, aimed at steering vulnerable teenagers on the edge of care away from the system. However, although this funding is to be loudly applauded, it is only short-term, and it is not at all clear that the political and civic will exists to provide these services on an ongoing basis. </p>
<p>There are approximately <a href="https://www.fostering.net/all-about-fostering/resources/statistics/statistics-children-in-care#.VgqyqXsb66N">80,000 children and young people</a> in care across Northern Ireland and Great Britain at any one time and many of them face significant behavioural and emotional problems. That’s 80,000 reasons why we need to ensure that these children and young people and their families get the vital support that they need, and as early as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominic McSherry receives funding from: the Economic and Social Research Council; Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister; Public Health Agency.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Montserrat Fargas-Malet receives funding from: the Economic and Social Research Council; Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister; Public Health Agency.</span></em></p>Going into care is traumatic for children – early intervention can help their mental health.Dominic McSherry, Senior Research Fellow, School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work , Queen's University BelfastMontserrat Fargas Malet, Research Fellow, School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.