Coronavirus daily update: Thursday 23 July
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Referrals to local authority children’s services could increase by 250 per cent by September, Kent County Council’s director of children’s services has warned.
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Each day, CYP Now will summarise the key issues affecting the children and families sector as it tackles the effects of the pandemic. The daily update signposts children’s services practitioners and leaders to the latest developments, expert views, advice and resources.
Warnings over spike in children’s services referrals
Referrals of children that need to be investigated and kept safe could increase by 250 per cent, Kent’s director of children’s services has warned.
Matt Dunkley said: "What we are looking at is a huge surge in September in children needing to be seen, families needing to be assessed, when they are at the end of their tether after six months being locked down or being out of the eye of their school.”
Responding to his concerns, Donna Molloy, director of policy and practice, Early Intervention Foundation said: “When we talked to councils recently we found that this pent-up demand for extra support for vulnerable children and families was likely to become a problem as lockdown restrictions eased. But statutory services like children’s social care won’t be the right answer for every family.
"Early intervention and early help must be an integral part of the recovery from Covid-19, to support families before problems become entrenched and to mitigate the risk of escalation into statutory services. Without a significant uplift in funding, it’s likely that many local authorities will struggle to manage this increased demand and ensure that children and families receive effective and appropriate support.”
Families impacted by decade of austerity ‘pushed over the edge’ by Covid-19
Children in the poorest areas are 10 times more likely to be in care, and there are large regional variations in child welfare across the UK according to a major study led by a team from the University of Huddersfield.
The five-year long Child Welfare Inequalities Project (CWIP), finds that there are large inequalities between local authorities in the proportion of children in care or investigated for child abuse or neglect, with families in poorest neighbourhoods over 10 times more likely to be separated from their children than those in the wealthiest.
Covid 19 has also reinforced inequalities felt by families in the most deprived areas, researchers said, including insecure employment and housing opportunities.
Calls for transparent masks to support deaf people
Transparent face masks could protect millions of deaf children and young people from "months of misery" as coverings become mandatory in many shops in England, charity leaders have warned.
A cohort of nine charities supporting deaf people have written to Public Health England and NHS England calling on the bodies to commission transparent masks to prevent deaf people facing an increased risk of isolation and loneliness.
They have also called on the government to update guidance to include advice on speaking to deaf or deafblind people whilst wearing face masks or coverings.
Youth Endowment Fund names Covid grant recipients
More than 100 organisations helping to prevent children becoming involved in violent crime in the wake of Covid-19 have been granted a share of £6.5m by the Youth Endowment Fund.
The fund has announced the names of 130 charities, social enterprises, local authorities and youth organisations who will receive a share of the money.
Each one is working to reconnect with young people at-risk of being drawn into violent crime and tackle any problems caused by Covid-19, the fund said.
