Child neglect in 2011
The proportion of children who experience neglect in the
UK remains at an unacceptably high level; studies suggest that up
to 10% of children experience neglect at some point in their lives,
and it is still the most common reason for a child to need
protection services.
Reviewing neglect in partnership with the University of
Stirling
Action for Children, in partnership with the University of
Stirling, has published a comprehensive review of child
neglect. Our review, Child
neglect in 2011, enables us to fill in the gaps that
currently exist about the situation for, and response to, neglected
children across the UK.
In order to produce our review we gathered evidence during 2011
from the public and professionals in a range of ways. These
included: a telephone survey of local authorities; in depth focus
groups across the UK; polls of the public and professionals, and an
analysis of statistics and policy developments.
Key findings:
- Social workers and other professional feel powerless to
help:
Half of social workers (51%), and a third of police officers (36%)
reported feeling "powerless" to intervene in suspected cases of
child neglect
- The public are increasingly worried about neglect but
do not always report it: 52% of members of the public (an
increase of 8% since 2009) said they have been worried about the
welfare or safety of a child they know or who is living in their
area, but a third (38%) of those didn't feel worried enough to tell
anyone
- Neither government nor local authorities know exactly
how many children are being neglected:
Of 47 local authorities surveyed we found only 21 collect data
about the prevalence of neglect other than required data on child
protection plans
- Too many children are recognised but not
helped:
Front line practitioners have told us that there are not enough
services for neglected children and 80% of social workers think
that cuts to services will make it more difficult to intervene in
cases of child neglect
As part of our review, we have produced a summary of recommendations for
the UK government to inform future policies on the issue. Specific
recommendations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be
published between now and the summer - sign up to our campaigns email
updates to be informed of developments.
- If you live in England you can take action now by emailing your MP about child
neglect
How we tackle neglect
Action for Children provides a range of services to overcome
neglect, and we know through experience that working with
families at an early stage has significant impacts in
terms of avoiding problems becoming entrenched and irreversible. To
find out more see the following reports and papers:
- Action for Children's impact
report (2011)
This report shows the difference Action for Children services make
to the lives of the most vulnerable and neglected children and
young people across the UK.
- Neglecting the issue
(2011) / Esgeuluso'r mater (Cymraeg)
Highlights existing knowledge and evidence on the impact, causes
and responses to child neglect in the UK. Written for Action for
Children by Cheryl Burgess, Research Fellow and Brigid Daniel,
Professor of Social Work, from the University of Stirling.
- Child
neglect experiences from the front line (2010)
Evidence of the damaging effects of neglect and the challenges of
dealing with the issue as told by the professionals on the front
line.
-
Evaluation of UK Neglect Intervention Project - year 2 interim
progress report (2010)
We are developing a UK neglect intervention project to identify
effective and timely interventions with children and families. This
project is the subject of a longitudinal evaluation by the
University of Salford.
- Seen
and now heard (2010)
Findings from a consultation on neglect involving over 3,000 eight
to twelve year olds, making it one of the biggest studies of its
kind.
-
Neglect: research evidence to inform practice
(2009)
A review of the research evidence to inform practice from Action
for Children consultancy services.