CYP Now - The policy context on preventing care proceedings

In the face of tightening council budgets and rising demand for children's social care services, policymakers and local leaders have for the past few years been devising ways to reduce children's services' use of care proceedings.

Up until very recently, there had been little sign that the effort and investment in new ways of working with families on the edge of care was making a difference - nationally, applications by English councils to commence care proceedings rose 30 months in a row between June 2014 and November 2016. However, that streak was finally broken when applications in December 2016 fell below the level of that seen in December 2015 (see graphic).

Trends in care applications

The number of care applications received by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) for the first nine months of 2016/17 stands at 10,958, a figure already higher than the annual total for 2013/14. In the first nine months of 2016/17, the previous highest monthly applications total - 1,237 in February 2015 - has been surpassed five times.

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