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Poor parental mental health becomes top concern in child social care assessments

2 mins read Mental health Social Care
Mental health problems among parents have overtaken domestic abuse as the most common factor highlighted in children’s social care assessments.
Families are less resilient than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, says the ADCS. Picture: AdobeStock

There has been a 10% increase in parental mental health being the “main presenting need” in assessments between 2021/22 and 2022/23, according to the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), which has carried out the research

Three quarters of children’s services leaders surveyed by the ADCS said issues arising from deteriorating parental mental health had increased pressure on their services over the last two years.

One survey respondent in the South West region said they are increasingly seeing parents employing “dangerous strategies to manage their own needs”.

Two thirds of children’s services leaders said parental alcohol and drug addiction problems had intensified pressure on the support they can offer over the past two years, particularly linked to parents use of Class A drugs.

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