Headline measures 2,000 children waiting to be adopted at 30 June 2016 has improved: 10% decrease from 31 March 2016 when there were 2,210 children waiting with a placement order not yet placed with an adoptive family. Child timeliness has improved: The time taken between a child entering care and being placed with a family for children … Continue reading Adoption figures fall again
The role of the IRO is to review and improve care planning, to challenge drift and delay and to ensure that the right permanence plan is achieved. Good planning and review is essential to achieving timely permanence and the right care for looked after children. The chance to build a trusting long-term relationship with a carer who shows their love, … Continue reading Reunification: Children’s return home from care
By Louise Mc Grath-Lone, UCL This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article: here Why some children are more likely to go back into care than others Each year, local authorities in England act as corporate parents for the 100,000 children who are placed in care. One important responsibility a parent has … Continue reading Why some children are more likely to go back into care than others
A High Court judge has awarded £20,000 damages to a mother and two children whose human rights were breached after “largely inexcusable” failings during a joint police and council investigation into abuse allegations. 'Cobb concluded the failings from both agencies occurred “within a context of individual and departmental professional pressure”. He found no evidence of … Continue reading Children wrongly kept in care after ‘inexcusable’ failings in abuse investigation
Department of Health project to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing support for children and young people in care system SCIE has been commissioned by the Department of Health to develop: care pathways based on the young person’s journey through the system models of care to inform the organisation and configuration of services quality principles … Continue reading Call for evidence: Improving mental health & emotional wellbeing support for children & young people in care.
Thanks @BoormanAmanda - this perfectly sums up how I feel about the Daily Fail article. https://t.co/XRaHCzHHXM Not in my name. — Mum (@mummywriter) 30 December 2016 'The Daily Mail article (link here) on adoption support, or lack of it, really woke us from the Christmas bubble with a start says . A very rude awakening … Continue reading Not In Our Name – Daily Fail piece
Lord Justice Macfarlane has given a terrific keynote address on the matter of 'Nothing Else Will Do'. Some extracts from the speech below but do please make time to read the full speech: here Extracts: [...] 'the need for there to be an evaluation both of Welfare and of Proportionality has for many years been, or … Continue reading ‘Nothing Else Will Do’
Reunification in practice By Karen Cheek, Marketing and Communications Officer for Research in Practice. ‘When a child is reunified by returning home from care to their birth family, it is hoped that this will be the best possible outcome for them; unfortunately many children will return to care, with some frequently moving back and forth between … Continue reading Supporting family reunification in practice
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has established a UK-wide enquiry to consider the role of social work in adoption. BASW is calling for evidence from young people who have been adopted, parents, independent reviewing officers, social workers, managers, family justice professionals, policymakers and academics to underpin a year-long research study on the role … Continue reading Call for Action – #Adoption Enquiry
The government is launching a training programme for social workers designed to ‘sharpen’ their skills around making permanency decisions, it will be optional and based on a new draft knowledge and skills statement on achieving permanence. The government has re-stated its commitment to provide social workers with more opportunities for professional development. Download the government report here: Putting … Continue reading Government scheme to ‘sharpen’ social work skills on permanency
