Corporate Parenting

"Since 2010 the Scottish Government has been funding Who Cares? Scotland to develop and deliver a national corporate parenting training programme. This training course is due to complete in March 2013 and there is the potential for a second phase of the programme. The Scottish Government commissioned an independent evaluation of the National Corporate Parenting training programme, with a focus on the impact of the programme to date. Qualitative and quantitative research was conducted among participants. The research was carried out between December 2012 and February 2013. "
Research Report:
Granville, S. & Mulholland, S. (2013). National Corporate Parenting Training Programme Evaluation. Scottish Government.

Fostering in Scotland unfair?

Sarah Lurie, director of Fostering Network Scotland writes in the Guardian, crticising the current lack of regulation by the Scottish Government in fostering, which has left local authorities and independent fostering providers to set their own fostering allowance rates, and foster carers potenitally being asked to care for higher numbers of children than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, where the limit for unrelated placements is 3 at one time. This year the Scottish Government conducted a consulation exercise for the proposed Children and Young People's Bill. The new bill will hopefully bring Scotland into line with the rest of the UK in the above areas. Additionally Lurie is hopeful that proposals for payment for foster carers in line with the remuneration of staff in residential children's care will increase recruitment and retention of foster carers.

Social Pedagogy vs Corporate Parenting

In a Huffington Post Article this week to mark World Social Work Day, Hayley Meachin laments the state of Corporate Parenting in the UK through which looked after children leave care disadvantaged, with higher rates of criminal offending and teenage pregnancy, and lower educational achievement. Meachin suggests we should look to other countries, particularily Germany and Denmark where the social pedagogy model predominates and the outcomes for young people in need of state care are correspondingly improved.  For further reading see Petrie, P. (2006). Working with children in care. Open University Press.

Children's experiences of care and destitution

Two documents have been published recently giving voice to the experiences of children and young people. The first, from the Children's Society focuses on refugee children and families in the UK and their experiences of destitution. Pinter, I. (2012). I don't feel human. Children's Society.
 The OFSTED (2012). Children's care monitor 2011 has also been published reporting the views of looked after children on the state of social care in England.

Helping parents of looked after children

This month's issue of Children in Scotland has an article on  a unique group-based intervention in West Lothian, working with the parents of looked after children, many of whom had  discrupted childhoods themselves. The intervention groups have had some success in mixing psychotherapeutic approaches with cognitive behavioural techniques; there have been improvements in parent-child interactions and several children have been able to return home, an outcome which was not expected previous to the intervention.
Rogers, J. (2012). "Fix us parents so we can fix our kids". Children in Scotland. 129, 10-11.
Find it at Serials 362.7.

A Time to be Heard.

The Scottish Government this week published its response to the recommendations in the Shaw Report, A Time to be Heard, which was a report on the pilot forum to hear the views and experiences of people who had been resident in Quarriers as children. CareKnowledge provides links to both the original report and the government's response.

Getting it right for looked after children

Today Ofsted (inspecting in England & Wales) published a report on 12 Outstanding childrens' homes, drawing on the views of young people, staff and management as to what makes these homes so successful.

Food for thought - looked after children

Looked after young people's views are heard in McManus, K. & Morrison, E. (2011). "It's no like one of those cafe places where you can order anything you want": children and young people's views and experiences of food and nutrition in residential care. Scottish Government. This is published in tandem with Scottish government. (2011). Health promotion guidance: nutritional guidance for children and young people in residential care settings.
The Scottish Children looked after statistics 2009-2010 have also been recently published.

Looked after children

SCIE and NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence - an arm of the NHS) have produced a guidance document : Promoting the quality of life of looked-after children and young people, which calls for health social care and educational institutions to address the need for inprovement in the quality of life of looked after young people, who currently suffer poored mental and physical health and educational outcomes than children who are not in the care system. More information can be found on the SCIE website.

Adult Care Leavers Speak Out

Duncalf, Z. (2010). Listen up!: adult care leavers speak out: the views of 310 care leavers aged 17-78. Care Leavers Association. Zachari Duncalf's reports on the experiences of care leavers across the lifespan. Duncalf's report surprises by revealing that more care leavers reported residential care as a positive experience than viewed foster care as positive. Also, care leavers, while often perceived as under achieving educationally, frequently returned to education in later years to gain qualifications.

This week on Careknowledge

Report:
Audit Scotland. (2010). Getting it right for children in residential childcare. Examines how effectively councils use their resources for looked after children and improvements which could be made.
Journal Article:
Reece, A. (2010). Leading the change from adult protection to safeguarding adults: more than just semantics. journal of Adult Protection 12 (3), pp. 30-34.  Reece argues that a change in practice and focus is required to improve the life chances of disabled adults.

Looked after children

Groves, J. (2010). No place like home: improving adoption services in England. Policy Exchange. Groves examines the true comparative costs of local autorities using Voluntary Adoption Agencies or local authority services and urges greater cooperation and planning between local authorities and voluntary agencies.
Walker, J. et al. (2010). Care matters: budget holding lead professionals (BHLPs) with looked after chidlren in England. Department for Children, Schools and Families. A multi-disciplinary team from Newcastle university evaluates budget holding pilots with looked after children.

Residential Childcare Network

A new networking website, Residential Child Care Network, has been set up by Gareth Wall, a registered child care manager, as a forum for information and practice sharing on all aspects of residential child care.

Children looked after statistics 2008-2009

This statistical report has been published online by the Scottish Executive, collating for returns for each individual looked after child, for the first time, from all 32 authorities.

Mental health services for looked after children

Ofsted have published a report, An Evaluation of the provision of mental health services for looked after young popel over the age of 16 accomodated in residential settings. The report draws on visits to 27 children's homes across 8 local authorities.

Adoption - using VAAs and kinship care detectives in the USA

A recent report published by the Policy Exchange, Groves, J. No Place Like Home: improving adoption services in England, asserts that the life chances of looked after children are being affected by local authority decisions not to use Voluntary Adoption Agencies, which they perceive as being more expensive than seeking placement via their own or other local authority services. In addition to this, permanent placments are being delayed as the annual cost of fostering is lower than the one-off cost of an adoption, with local authorities making decsions based on short term budgetary considerations. See also Guardian, January 31, 2010.
Across the Altantic in St. Louis, the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition uses detective work to seek kinship carers for children in foster care, who are in desperate need of family ties. New York times January 30, 2010.

Who Care's Scotland - anti -stigma campaign

Youing people in care in Scotland chose tackling the stigma associated with being in care as their number one priority in a Who Care's consulation - hence the launch of the 'Give me a chance' campaign. See BBC Scotland for further reportage.

Recent e-documents

Risky behaviour and social activites (2009), research report from the Department for Children Schools and Families.
Provision of mental health services to care leavers (2009), published by NFER and the Local Government Association.
Increasing the number of care leavers in 'settled, safe accomodation' (2009), by the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services.
Children's care monitor 2009 Children on the state of social care in England, reported by the Children's rights Director for England.
Children talking to Childline about sexual abuse (2009). Childline case Notes, NSPCC.
The chance of a lifetime: preventing early conduct problems and reducing crime (2009), Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.
Family life: the significance of family to homeless young people (2009). J Monford, Centrepoint.

Keeping In Touch

Keeping in Touch is a new report from the Children's Rights Director for England, which presents the views of 370 looked after children, with regard to keeping in touch, or choosing not to keep in touch with birth family members and friends.

"Life After Care Conference" 2009

In September 2009 40 care leavers came together for the "Life After Care Conference" organised by the Debate Project. The Conference Report on the experiences of the attendees is available here.