Safeguarding services report rise in child protection cases
09:19 - 07/05/2010
Safeguarding services report rise in ...
Recent research conducted for the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) reveals that social work activities relating to the safeguarding of children have risen by an average of 21% since 2007.
This rise relates to social work tasks including identifying and investigating claims of child abuse and neglect, and activities ranging from referrals to children being taken into full-time care.
The ADCS commissioned the research in order to obtain an up-to-date and accurate picture of the demand placed on child protection services. The data, which was collected from 105 local authorities and includes figures from up to the end of 2009, is to be used to direct policy at both a local and national level.
Responses from these local authorities showed that the number of children initially brought to the notice of social services has increased by almost 25% since the end of 2007. Of these, the number that is then judged likely to require further investigation has risen by 16.5%, while investigations of concerns of abuse have increased by over 20%.
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that emergency protection orders and interim care orders, which put children thought to be at immediate risk of significant harm under the care of the local authority, have risen by 32% and 38% respectively. The number of children put into a child protection plan, in which they remain in their own home but are supported by a safeguarding team, has increased by almost 33%.
Despite these dramatic increases in the number of children needing services, staffing levels have only risen by around 10%. Therefore safeguarding services are left to struggle because their staff team has not expanded in accordance with the demand. In addition to this, many of the councils questioned also had vacancies within their social work teams.
Further data will now be collated as the ADCS extend their research to determine the financial impact of the rise in child protection activities. They will also attempt to distinguish trends in the profile of children who are brought to the notice of social care services.
Marion Davis, incoming president of ADCS, said: “The rises are in every part of the system, from the front door to the family courts and we believe this shows that this is not a knee jerk reaction to high profile cases, but rather that agencies are getting better at identifying those children who require extra support. […] We will be doing further analysis of the reasons for referral and the ages of the children and young people affected to try and get a better picture of why this is happening and to try and estimate the cost implications for local authorities as they continue to meet their statutory responsibilities to keep children and young people safe from harm.”
Those who work with children and young people also have a responsibility to keep the children in their care safe from harm, and we can offer a Child Protection training course to provide staff with an introduction to child safeguarding principles. The course will provide an understanding of responsibilities for safeguarding children and how to work safely as a team with the protection of young persons in mind. The content also discusses behavioural indicators of abuse, policy and procedure and what to do if you suspect abuse.
For further information, please contact us today.
This rise relates to social work tasks including identifying and investigating claims of child abuse and neglect, and activities ranging from referrals to children being taken into full-time care.
The ADCS commissioned the research in order to obtain an up-to-date and accurate picture of the demand placed on child protection services. The data, which was collected from 105 local authorities and includes figures from up to the end of 2009, is to be used to direct policy at both a local and national level.
Responses from these local authorities showed that the number of children initially brought to the notice of social services has increased by almost 25% since the end of 2007. Of these, the number that is then judged likely to require further investigation has risen by 16.5%, while investigations of concerns of abuse have increased by over 20%.
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that emergency protection orders and interim care orders, which put children thought to be at immediate risk of significant harm under the care of the local authority, have risen by 32% and 38% respectively. The number of children put into a child protection plan, in which they remain in their own home but are supported by a safeguarding team, has increased by almost 33%.
Despite these dramatic increases in the number of children needing services, staffing levels have only risen by around 10%. Therefore safeguarding services are left to struggle because their staff team has not expanded in accordance with the demand. In addition to this, many of the councils questioned also had vacancies within their social work teams.
Further data will now be collated as the ADCS extend their research to determine the financial impact of the rise in child protection activities. They will also attempt to distinguish trends in the profile of children who are brought to the notice of social care services.
Marion Davis, incoming president of ADCS, said: “The rises are in every part of the system, from the front door to the family courts and we believe this shows that this is not a knee jerk reaction to high profile cases, but rather that agencies are getting better at identifying those children who require extra support. […] We will be doing further analysis of the reasons for referral and the ages of the children and young people affected to try and get a better picture of why this is happening and to try and estimate the cost implications for local authorities as they continue to meet their statutory responsibilities to keep children and young people safe from harm.”
Those who work with children and young people also have a responsibility to keep the children in their care safe from harm, and we can offer a Child Protection training course to provide staff with an introduction to child safeguarding principles. The course will provide an understanding of responsibilities for safeguarding children and how to work safely as a team with the protection of young persons in mind. The content also discusses behavioural indicators of abuse, policy and procedure and what to do if you suspect abuse.
For further information, please contact us today.
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