Parents' mental health overtakes domestic violence as most common reason for social care
According to a report, parents' poor mental health has become the most common factor in children's social care assessments in England, surpassing domestic abuse for the first time.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) highlighted this trend in a long-standing tracker of safeguarding pressures, which also reported on the impacts of overcrowded and unaffordable housing and the lasting effects of the pandemic that have left families less resilient.
The ADCS stated that three-quarters of councils that responded to its regular survey reported an increase in safeguarding demand over a two-year period due to children’s mental health. For the first time since its tracking reports began in 2007, poor parental mental health has overtaken domestic abuse as the most common factor in children’s social care assessments.
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Parental mental health was the most frequently reported assessment factor in children’s social care among more than 120 local authority responses, rising by 10% since the previous reporting period in 2022. The ADCS report, published on Wednesday, noted impacts of delayed access to assessment or treatment plans for children as well as parents and carers for issues such as alcohol and substance misuse and mental health.
The organisation has warned that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children and young people has been "significantly underestimated" and will continue for years without increased focus and investment. The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), representing leaders in children’s services departments across local authorities in England, highlighted that families are less resilient with "more entrenched and overlapping needs".
The report pointed out that poor housing quality, a record number of families in temporary accommodation, and the general unaffordability of housing are exacerbating family issues amid a cost-of-living crisis. Children’s services are "routinely" having to top up rents to prevent family breakdowns, a practice deemed "unsustainable" by the association.
The ADCS criticised the reduction of public services for negatively affecting child outcomes and called on the Government to take "bolder, swifter action to truly improve children’s life chances now and in the future". Utilising data from 124 local authorities, survey responses from 86, and interviews with 34 senior children’s services leaders, the report revealed over three million instances of initial safeguarding concerns being reported to councils in England in the year leading up to March 2024.
Reports indicate an 8% increase in the year to March 2022 compared to the previous tracking period, according to the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS). There has been a similar 8% rise in early help assessments, with referrals to children's services up by 1%, a figure that represents a 20% increase since the 2007/08 data collection began.
Data shows that around 83,625 children were in care at the end of March last year, marking a 2% increase from the prior period and a significant 28% rise since 2007/08. ADCS president Andy Smith commented: "It is encouraging to see that the Government has reaffirmed its commitment to keeping children safe and helping families to thrive and backed this up with new investment, however, evidence presented here shows the stark impact of poverty, the housing crisis and failing health services on children’s lives and on their childhoods is undeniable."
A spokesperson for the Government stated: "This Government will do whatever it takes to keep children safe, and we are already taking swift action to reform children’s social care through our landmark Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This report highlights that this cannot be done in a silo which is why we are taking further action across government through our Plan for Change to ensure children in our country have the best life chances, including by delivering an ambitious strategy to increase household income, bring down essential costs, and tackle the challenges felt by those living in poverty.
"On top of this, we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across child and adult services and we are tackling the housing crisis, delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation."