Children not in crisis ‘left in limbo’

Thousands of vulnerable children in England are ‘left in limbo’ by social services because they are not at crisis point, a charity has warned.

A new report by Action for Children predicts that 140,000 children referred to social services over issues like alcoholism, drugs, domestic abuse and neglect are not getting the help they require. It says they often are forgotten as they are not at crisis point.

The report, which is based on Freedom of Information requests from 141 local authorities in England, says: “These children have needs that are too great for schools, health or other universal services to meet on their own, but they are not eligible for support from statutory social care services.

"Our research suggests many are living in challenging family situations, affected by issues like domestic violence or substance misuse.

"Without the right help, there's potential for these situations to escalate to crisis point, placing children at risk of harm."

Action for Children says some children ‘may be stuck in a revolving door of children’s services, repeatedly referred and assessed but not receiving help’.

The charity is calling on the government to strengthen current legislation for early help services and to provide adequate funding to local authorities, so they can offer help as soon as a child needs it.

Tony Hawkhead, chief executive of Action for Children, said: “Social care can't just be there for when a family is in meltdown.

"Every day too many children's lives are overshadowed by drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence and neglect - a toxic recipe for all kinds of problems now and in later life.

"Punishing savings targets have given local authorities no option but to drastically shrink or abandon services, including family support, leaving large numbers of children on the fringes of social care without the help they need.”

Ministers say their social care reforms will improve support.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Councils will receive more than £200 billion for local services up to 2020 and spent nearly £8 billion last year on children's social care but we want to help them do even more.

"Our £200 million Innovation Programme is helping councils develop new and better ways of delivering these services - this includes projects targeting children who have been referred and assessed multiple times without receiving support."

Responding to the report, Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This report rightly recognises the increased pressures facing local authorities when it comes to protecting vulnerable children. As a result of funding cuts and huge increases in demand for services, the reality is that services for the care and protection of vulnerable children are now, in many areas, being pushed to breaking point.

“The number of referrals to local authority children’s services has increased by almost nine per cent over the past decade, while the number of children placed on a child protection plan as a result of those referrals has increased by more than 90 per cent. This demonstrates the increasing level of need that councils are seeing, and the significant efforts they are taking to ensure that children are robustly protected.

“Not all referrals will need a formal intervention however, and referrals closed with no further action will not necessarily leave a child in need. It is important that local authorities and their partners work closely to help children and families to access the support they need when they need it, whether that requires intervention from social services or not.

“But we know that reduced funding for local services has left fewer resources to invest in early intervention, and Action for Children are right to highlight the significant challenge facing all agencies in making sure families can get help before problems become more serious. The Early Intervention Grant has been cut by £500 million since 2013, and will drop by a further £183 million by 2020. This has exacerbated a difficult situation where councils cannot afford to withdraw services for children in immediate need of protection to invest in early help instead."