Serious discussion about the role and future of our children's homes has sadly been obscured by press sensationalism. Yet we are all corporate parents for nearly 6,000 young people in residential care. We give the responsibility to the local authorities to assess their needs and make sure they have the most appropriate support.
Recent official statistics tell us 62% of looked-after children arrive in care through abuse or neglect and just 2% through their own socially unacceptable behaviour. What is termed 'family dysfunction' accounts for 14%, a rise of 60% since 2008. 5% have absent parents and 9% are from families in acute stress. Such experiences should mean that compassion and empathy drive public discussion and policy development. With those two ethics as core the uniqueness of each young person and the breadth of needs and challenges for their care remain central.
A new discussion paper by the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care and Revolution Consulting gives insight into the complexity facing some senior social workers when taking everyday decisions. Each of the examples draws from several real life scenarios.
A is a 15 year old boy. In his early life, he suffered neglect and abuse. He was excluded from schools and pupil referral units as a result of the strength of his physical and verbal behaviour and their effects on staff and other pupils. He became involved in drugs and alcohol misuse. He has a full care order and has had several foster placements that have broken down as a result of damaging behaviour to people and their property. He is approaching the end of a three month placement in a secure training centre and his social worker is looking for a residential placement.
B is a deaf 14 year old girl. She also has autistic spectrum disorder. Earlier in her school career, B seemed bright and intelligent yet as she has matured her family and schools have struggled to cope. She uses British sign language as her only form of communication. Her special school placement is breaking down, despite having three members of staff to support her. Some have been physically hurt whilst caring for her due to her increasingly erratic behaviour that is also affecting her ability to engage with education. Her self-harming has escalated to weekly visits to A&E. Parents are pressing professionals hard and they are seeking a residential placement to stabilise her behaviour, and to rebuild education engagement.
C is a 10 year old boy from a single parent family. His mother has struggled to parent C. His primary school referred his plight to children's services several years ago. His mother has an increasing drug problem and is about to enter full-time rehab. There are no appropriate friends or family who can care for him. The local authority has been granted an interim care order and wants to find a local foster placement to maintain contact with mum and his school placement. However, due to high demand there are no foster carers with available places.
To make the point clearly and to begin to see the complexities, if all three were from the same local authority, it is highly unlikely that A, B and C would be placed together in the same home.
When making any children's home placement the needs of the young person and the others they will be living with have to be considered. The examples below give an insight into this complex decision making.
Should A only be placed where staff can supervise him continuously? With other boys of a similar age and background? If so, how many? Or could this become unmanageable? In which case should A be placed on his own for a while, or is that too isolating?
For B, are there special services where British sign language is always used and where staff have experience of working with autistic behaviours? Could B be placed with boys or girls? If so, are there residents already in place who may be distressed or negatively impacted by B's self-harming? How can special education be accessed? With mental health support?
For C, should the authority place the boy with a foster carer further afield and find a new school with the potential disruption that may bring? Or is there a children's home locally that could be considered? What if the other young people already living there were older teenagers, would this pose an additional risk to C?
Another aspect of the child-centred thinking needed is to consider the capabilities and experience of the manager and staff group, the resource levels, the education and health service access.
In every children's homes placement, there are many human factors to consider. Decisions as to how to meet the needs of the young people require experience, knowledge, training and know-how. Looked after children and children's homes deserve the support of their corporate parents, including you and me, engaging in complex public discussion rather than simplistic sensationalism.