Emergency in Children's care system

The statement by all 32 of Scotland’s Chief Social Work Officers last week highlighted the scale of the crisis in children’s care. A report from social work leaders warning of social workers taking children home because no alternative safe places can be found, of children being placed with young adults, and expensive independent providers being used out of necessity rather than assessed need, must be a catalyst for change.

The dedication of the workforce to those they support is clear, but social workers having to take children home because there is nowhere else for them to go cannot be normalised. Alternative care placements are needed to protect children who are not safe at home, where these do not exist, children can remain in unsafe homes. This environment has potentially catastrophic consequences for those children.

For Scotland’s children and young people to be in this position over six years since The Promise was made is a stark indication of how far we are from our national ambitions. Making The Promise was easy, but keeping it is proving much more difficult.

We recognise that the Minister is new in post and has met with colleagues from Social Work Scotland within just a few days of the statement being made. That, and the commitment to finding solutions with the sector, is welcome and a positive first step. However, this engagement must be followed by concrete action to support children and young people.

The immediate needs of children must be the priority, and we must support the profession’s leadership to provide for them in the short-term. In the long-term, there must be significant changes to resourcing and funding for services to protect and care for vulnerable children and young people.