Child protection services near crisis as demand rises
The BBC has just published an article looking at how a steep rise in vulnerable children needing protection over the past 10 years is pushing council children’s services in England into crisis…
There has been a substantial increase in calls from the public and professionals worried about a child, according to a study for the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.
The number of investigations where a child is believed to be at risk of significant harm has also more than doubled.
Over the past year, almost 2.4 million people contacted children’s services because they were worried about a child – a 78% increase on 10 years ago, while serious investigations over concerns of significant harm are up from just under 77,000 in 2008 to almost 200,000 last year – a rise of 159%.
In nearly half of the cases where social workers carry out an assessment, domestic violence is a factor. The next most common issue is mental health problems.
