The Government’s findings in their recent children’s social care questionnaires, published on 18th June, highlights one of the most important concerns that face children who are looked after by a Local Authority in any type of substitute care provision. Many of these children stated that they ‘wished they could stay where they were for longer and that they did not have to move on when they were 18’.
Sadly many of these children have been deprived of safe and nurturing care and their earliest experiences of family life can offer a skewed blue print from which they can draw on within their adulthood. It can take a considerable amount of effort and time to undo the emotional consequences of neglect and abuse but those consequences equally present barriers to progress. Children learn not to trust the adults around them and many struggle to accept the opportunity of a more positive narrative of family life.
Many looked after children experience a number of placement moves and this only escalates the potential for instability and can lead to criminal and dysfunctional patterns of behaviour. Adolescence is a time of turmoil for most young people but for those living in Local Authority care provision, their carers can be less emotionally invested and therefore, less prepared to tolerate difficult behaviours. Some children can thrive in substitute care and have the opportunity to remain with their carers until the age of 21 or beyond however, these circumstances are few and far between.
Local Authorities have a duty to support looked after children until the age of 21, or even 25, if require. Through a ‘Pathway Plan’, they are offered practical and financial support to make a smooth transition into adult life but this is a poor substitute for family life.
Sadly, many of those children come to our attention within their adult lives when those transitions are far from smooth and they find themselves unconsciously following flawed parenting patterns they were exposed to as children themselves. The opportunity to alter these patterns is restricted further when they are forced to leave their carers at the age of 18.
These Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) need to be considered carefully within assessments however, it is crucial that Social Worker’s do not allow them to cloud their judgement. A strong principle of Social Work is the belief that people have the capacity to change and this is a philosophy that Advanced Child Care Assessments aspires to inspire in all of our Independent Social Worker’s. Through innovation and determination, our priority is always to keep families together wherever we can.
