How can we best identify and intervene early to support vulnerable children and their families before they enter the social care system?
Background
A sizeable minority of children and young people in England face a significant range of vulnerabilities and disadvantages. These include those already known to children’s social care, children in need, those eligible for free school meals (FSM) because of low family income, those with SEND, in particular those who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and those who attend Alternative Provision. Given the human, economic and social cost of poor performance in this area, we are seeking evidence on the best ways to improve outcomes for these children and young people, before issues become acute and require more significant intervention
Next steps
If you would like to discuss previous, ongoing or potential research into any of the areas in this document, please contact [email protected].
Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Related UKRI funded projects
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Comparing health outcomes for care experienced children and children in the general population in Scotland using linked administrative data
Children who are in the care of their local authority (care experienced children, CEC) are one of the most vulnerable groups of people in the society. In 2017 approximately 15,000 children in Scotland were visited by soc...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Glasgow
Why might this be relevant?
This project specifically focuses on the health outcomes of care experienced children in Scotland, which aligns with the vulnerable children and families in the social care system.
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Transformative children's social care (Resilience Fund)
Coronavirus has reduced access to already scarce resources in children's mental health and social care. The most vulnerable children in the UK are more isolated than ever, and foster/residential carers and adoptive paren...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: BERRI LIMITED
Why might this be relevant?
The project addresses the identification and early intervention for vulnerable children and their families before they enter the social care system, providing a suite of psychological screening, training, and support products.
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Childhood interactions with social services and risk of poor health and social outcomes in adulthood: a population wide data linkage study
In 2015 around 5.5% of young people (aged 0-18 years) in Northern Ireland were known to social services as a child in need (n=23,834), with 2,875 in the care of the Health and Social Care Trusts (a "looked after&quo...
Funded by: MRC
Lead research organisation: Queen's University Belfast
Why might this be relevant?
This project directly addresses the question by studying the long-term outcomes of children known to social services, providing insights on early intervention and support.