Research suggests 10,356 more children living in English local authority areas became looked after than would have been the case had poverty levels remained at 2015 levels. This latest research raises concerns voiced elsewhere about an underfunded, risk-averse child protection system, increasingly focussed on acute interventions at the expense of prevention. It underscores the need for an approach to child protection that explicitly addresses the changing socioeconomic conditions in shaping care entry.
The researchers suggest the setting of achievable child poverty targets and an increase in welfare support including a reversing of the cuts to welfare benefits to families with children.
The research is currently being peer-reviewed and can be downloaded: HERE
Related reading: HERE
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