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Care and permanence planning for looked after children in Scotland – new research
Monday 20 June 2011
Delays in decision making and obtaining a permanent home can mean poorer outcomes for children. SCRA carried out research on the processes of care and permanency planning for looked after children in Scotland to identify areas for improvement.
The research followed the pathways of 100 children from the point they were first identified as at risk, to the point of adoption or permanence, by examining the SCRA case files and court process records.
This research was carried out by SCRA for the Looked After Children Strategic Implementation Group (LACSIG) which was set up by the Scottish Government.
All the children were under four years old when they first came to the attention of services - 44% were assessed as at risk, at or before birth.
For the majority, it took over two years from their first involvement with services to when they were adopted or had other form of permanence. The shortest time was 12.5 months, and the longest 10 years and 10 months.
For most of the children it took more than a year for a decision to be made about moving towards permanence. For 35 children it took more than two years. 45% of parents had already had another child(ren) removed from their care.
Supplementary research
SCRA has produced a supplementary report to the main research above. This additional analysis looked in detail at the cases of 44 children who were identified as at risk at or before birth.
Please click on the links below to view both research reports.
The research followed the pathways of 100 children from the point they were first identified as at risk, to the point of adoption or permanence, by examining the SCRA case files and court process records.
This research was carried out by SCRA for the Looked After Children Strategic Implementation Group (LACSIG) which was set up by the Scottish Government.
All the children were under four years old when they first came to the attention of services - 44% were assessed as at risk, at or before birth.
For the majority, it took over two years from their first involvement with services to when they were adopted or had other form of permanence. The shortest time was 12.5 months, and the longest 10 years and 10 months.
For most of the children it took more than a year for a decision to be made about moving towards permanence. For 35 children it took more than two years. 45% of parents had already had another child(ren) removed from their care.
Supplementary research
SCRA has produced a supplementary report to the main research above. This additional analysis looked in detail at the cases of 44 children who were identified as at risk at or before birth.
Please click on the links below to view both research reports.
