What is the issue?
The multiple, intersecting needs of children in complex situations are currently not being recognised or responded to adequately by children’s social care and mental health services, despite children’s long histories with them and the best intentions of the professionals involved. Delayed support can lead to escalation and crisis – and serious concerns about the levels of risk or harm.
Efforts to keep children safe when they have reached this point can include depriving them of their liberty, with a focus on managing immediate, short-term risks rather than providing recovery and opportunities to thrive in the long term. But placement options are limited, and if children are deprived of their liberty under the inherent jurisdiction of the high court they can be placed in unregulated and often unsuitable secure settings.
This briefing – and the associated Caring for Children in Complex Situations: Towards a New Ecosystem – is for leaders in social care, health, youth justice, family justice, police and education services who know that change is needed, and who recognise that everyone involved needs to be around the table to reimagine a better way of working.
