Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
POOREST KIDS NEED MOST PROTECTION
Deprived six times more likely to be in care of State QUB research finds new welfare strategy is needed
YOUNGSTERS living in Ulster’s poorest areas are six times more likely to be put on the child protection register, academics have found.
The figure emerged from major research involving QUB that is looking into links between poverty, neglect and involvement of State safeguards.
It also found children living in Northern Ireland’s least well-off areas are four times more likely to be looked after by the State than those in the wealthiest districts.
Queen’s University’s Dr Lisa Bunting said: “The study has highlighted the huge disparity in child welfare across the UK and enables a deeper understanding of the link between neglect and poverty and the intervening factors.
“The evidence demonstrates a different approach to child welfare is required.
“One that recognises the impact of poverty and connects social practice with anti-poverty policies and community development initiatives to help alleviate family stress.”
Academics found “strong social gradients” in intervention rates across the UK.
They said: “Each step increase in neighbourhood deprivation brings a significant rise in the proportion of children either ‘looked after’ in care (LAC) or on a child protection plan (CPP).”
Researchers studied data on more than 35,000 children involved with State bodies.
In Northern Ireland, figures from all five Health and Social Care Trusts were used, including 1,845 on the child protection register and 2,882 in LAC. The research showed
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children living in England’s most deprived areas are 10 times more likely to be placed on child protection plans or looked after than those in well-off areas. Dr Bunting, a lecturer in social work, said: “The fact Northern Ireland has the lowest intervention rates in the most deprived areas presents an important opportunity to investigate what we are doing well here, as well as areas where we might improve.”
The Department of Health’s Sean Holland welcomed the findings and said professionals “need to understand the stress deprivation places families under”.
Northern Ireland’s chief social work officer added: “No family is going to function better because they are in poverty, struggling with debt or at risk of becoming homeless.
“We need to have a joined-up approach across professions, agencies and Government departments when working with families under pressure.”
The outcomes of the study, which also involved the universities of Coventry, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Stirling, recommend “greater recognition of the link between deprivation and child welfare interventions at both policy and practice levels”.
The authors added: “This should involve greater alignment between anti-poverty policies, child protection and family support policies as well as the development of services to help families maximise their income and address issues of debt relief and financial hardship.”