Parents with learning disabilities or difficulties are over-represented in child protection processes and care proceedings and in experiencing the permanent removal of their children (Booth et al. 2005).
Several recent research studies have provided a timely reminder of the challenges these parents face. Their findings paint a concerning picture of the experiences of parents with learning disabilities and indicate that the family justice and social care systems are paying insufficient attention to ensuring that their rights under disability, equality and human rights legislation are upheld.
This Spotlight paper brings together the main messages from:
Babies in care proceedings: What do we know about parents with learning disabilities or difficulties? Burch et al. (2024)
Substituted parenting: What does this mean for parents with learning disabilities in the family court context? Tilbury and Tarleton (2023)
The role of adult social care for parents with learning disabilities when their children are no longer in their care. Baginsky (in press)
How do adult and learning disability social workers engage with parents with learning disabilities? Tarleton et al. (2024)
Research on the number of children in Wales placed into care from parents with learning disability and the reasons behind their removal. Burch et al. (2019)
Key messages:
- A high proportion of care proceedings concerning babies involve parents with learning disabilities/difficulties
- Late identification of learning disabilities/difficulties means that assessments and interventions are unlikely to be tailored to parents’ learning needs
- Reasons for late identification of learning disabilities/difficulties include a lack of confidence and experience among social workers, time pressures and delays in obtaining specialist assessments
- Insufficient communication, coordination and understanding across adult and children’s social care impacts negatively on ensuring appropriate support for parents with learning disabilities/difficulties
- Advocates and intermediaries have an important role to play in enabling parents with learning disabilities/difficulties to engage fully in meetings and court proceedings
- The term ‘substituted parenting’ is unclear and unhelpful
- There is need for post-proceedings support for parents with learning disabilities/difficulties who lose their children through care proceedings
