The application for a care order is usually a reflection of failure - of parents to adequately meet the needs of their children, and children's services to find ways to support families before problems escalate out of control.
Removing a child from their family and placing them in the care of the state can on the one hand cause deep and prolonged trauma while on the other offer protection from a dangerous home environment.
As such, deciding when to intervene and issue care proceedings is one of the most difficult tasks for children's social workers. In many instances, instigating proceedings may be the right thing to do to protect the child in the short term, but the trauma it causes can have long-term consequences for their self-identity and relationships with birth parents and other family members.
CYP Now's special report on preventing care proceedings looks at trends in care demand; the factors driving this including key government policies; what the latest evidence shows in how proceedings are used; and highlights social care teams that are adapting how they work with vulnerable children and families to divert cases away from the courts.
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