TRAUMA OF CHILDREN IN CARE
INVESTIGATION REVEALS YOUNGSTERS ARE THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE CONVICTED OF CRIME
CHILDREN in care across Kirklees are three times more likely to find themselves convicted of a crime than other youngsters, new research has revealed.
Exclusive analysis of data from the Department for Education shows the hurdles that children looked after by the local authority have to overcome.
As well as difficulties such as emotional and behavioural issues and problems with substance abuse, young people often struggle with unemployment and unsuitable housing after leaving care.
The investigation by the Examiner’s data unit shows:
■ Nearly four in 10 children in care in Kirklees have possible emotional and behavioural problems.
■ Around one in every 30 have a drug or alcohol problem.
■ Children in care are three times as likely to be convicted of a crime as other children in Kirklees.
The government data shows about 40 children in care in Kirklees (6%) were convicted or cautioned for a crime in one year.
In comparison, only 2% of all children in the area were proven to have committed an offence over the course of 12 months.
However, that figure includes all offenders, not just those who were convicted, warned or reprimanded, so it’s likely that the disparity is By ANNIE GOUK & NICK LAVIGUEUR nick@examiner.co.uk @grecian9
even bigger.
Experts argue that the higher conviction rate for children in care does not mean that these children are more likely to actually commit a crime – they are just more likely to be reported to police.
The substance misuse problem is estimated to affect about 3% of children in care in the borough – approximately 20 of the 700 ‘Looked After Children’ the council is responsible for.
In comparison, figures from The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System show just 0.1% of all children were receiving help for substance abuse in 2016/17.
Steve Walker, Director of Children’s Services for Kirklees Council, said: “A well-established body of national research highlights the challenges faced by care leavers across the UK.
“Care leavers are more likely to face the risk of drug or alcohol issues and are less likely than their peers to be engaged in education, employment or training.
“However, despite their vulnerabilities, it’s important to stress that care leavers can and do achieve as well as their peers.
“It’s essential they have the support to achieve their potential and, over the past year, we’ve been working to strengthen our care leavers’ service.
“Our aim is always to enhance their life chances, and a huge range of measures are in place to achieve this.
“Each care leaver in Kirklees has a personal advisor who works with the young person to develop an individual plan for the transition into adulthood.
“We want all of our care leavers to be in learning or work and, very importantly, we also prioritise their mental health needs.
“We recently opened a new centre for care leavers – whose own views and ideas were central in the planning – and this is providing valuable life skills.
“The centre supports care leavers into learning and work and helps to ensure that their health needs, including their mental health needs, are being met.
“The centre has been praised by government and we are proud of the difference it is making to young people across Kirklees who are in great need of our support and understanding.”
Beth Murray, director of Catch22, a national charity that works with care leavers and young offenders, said: “Children in care in Kirklees are not three times as likely to commit a crime, but they may well be three times as likely to be reported for one.
“A child that breaks a window in their family home might expect to be grounded, or have their pocket money docked.
“A child in a children’s home could see this reported to the police as damage to property.
“Once a child is on the police radar, any further incidents are dealt with more severely.”
Figures from the Care Leavers Association suggest one in every four adults in prison have spent time in care.
Young adults who have been in care can also struggle once they leave the system.
Carrie Wilson, young people’s project coordinator at the Care Leavers Association, said: “Children in care aren’t being prepared for real life, and they’re not being given the skills they need to survive once they leave care.
“Even in cases where a care leaver has had some preparation for the real world, problems with mental health and a lack of ability to deal with these issues stops them being able to use these skills.”
Government figures show that 44% of 17 to 18-year-old care leavers and 56% of 19-21 year old care leavers in Kirklees are not in education, employment or training.
That’s much higher than the average for all young adults across the area, just 5% of all 16-17 year olds and 10% of all 18-19 year olds are in this situation.
Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of Become – a national charity for children in care and young care leavers – said such outcomes were usually a product of both a child’s troubled background, and the experience of being in care itself.
She said: “Every child in care has experienced childhood trauma, such as abuse or neglect within their family, extreme family dysfunction, or parental substance abuse.
“What you see is that the care system works to keep children safe, and takes them away from that environment, but it doesn’t give them the emotional support that they need to deal with that trauma.
“In fact, the care system compounds that trauma by repeatedly moving these children around, between placements.
“They are forced to adapt to life with strangers again and again, and these multiple experiences of instability, feelings of rejection, not fitting in and abandonment, can result in emotional and psychological problems, affect their ability to concentrate and learn in school, and can present as behaviour difficulties.”
The Alliance for Children in Care and Care Leavers says safe and suitable accommodation is the starting point for providing young people with a good transition into adulthood, good health (including mental health), gaining qualifications and moving into employment.
Accommodation is regarded as suitable if it provides safe, secure and affordable provision for young people.
It would generally include short-term accommodation designed to move young people on to stable long-term accommodation, but would exclude emergency accommodation used in a crisis.
Despite this, at least 5% of 17 to 18 year old and 7% of 19 to 21 year old care leavers were in accommodation considered “unsuitable.”
This can include B&B accommodation, homeless hostels or night shelters, or ‘sofasurfing’ with friends.
While these figures paint a stark picture of the challenges faced by children in care and young care leavers, charities are keen to stress that the data doesn’t tell the whole story.
Ms Finlayson, of Become, said: “The full context here is that there are many young people who do flourish against the odds.
“From our experience, children who are in care from an early age and are settled have good outcomes, and academic research bears this out.”