A merger between two private firms - Acorn Care Education Group and the National Fostering Agency Group (among the largest providers of foster placement services to councils in England, Scotland and Wales), is to be investigated due to concerns it has created a monopoly. Following an initial investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced it will proceed … Continue reading £400m fostering services merger faces investigation
New report from CORC, NSPCC and Loughborough University, Improving Children’s Social Care Services: Results of a feasibility study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The report can be downloaded at source here. It sets out the findings of a feasibility study that aimed to understand how to define ‘good’ children’s social care services and how to assess … Continue reading Improving Children’s Social Care Services: Results of a feasibility study
Your Family, Your Voice, is an alliance of families and practitioners that has been developed by Family Rights Group to counter the stigma and negative presumptions about families whose children are subject to, or at risk of, state intervention. The Alliance is leading a Knowledge Inquiry to look in detail at one part of our … Continue reading Call to Action – Knowledge Inquiry: Children who come into the care system under a voluntary arrangement
By Dr Bruce Perry, adapted from the Foreword to his book, Life Story Therapy with Traumatized Children, by Richard Rose. EXTRACT A fundamental and permeating strength of humankind is the capacity to form and maintain relationships – the capacity to belong. It is in the context of our clan, community and culture that we are born and … Continue reading ‘Without a life story, a child is adrift, disconnected and vulnerable’ – Dr Bruce Perry on the value and power of the Life Story approach
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 Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the interpretation of the word 'abscond' in terms of escaping indefinitely from an imposed regime. This ruling will have a significant impact upon local authority applications in future ... 'There are two criteria for the making of a secure accommodation. The first being that the child has a history … Continue reading The deprivation of a child’s liberty – Family Law
Government proposals to allow councils to apply for exemptions from children's social care legislation have been reinserted into the Children and Social Work Bill following a vote by MPs. 'The controversial so-called "exemption clause" was previously removed from the legislation in November following a defeat for the government in the House of Lords. But members … Continue reading MPs vote to reinstate controversial ‘exemption clause’
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
Send Views to Committee Any person with relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Children and Social Work Bill [Lords] can submit their views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is considering this Bill. The Committee will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage on Tuesday … Continue reading Children and Social Work Bill #CSWB
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.
