Lifelong Links delivers positive outcomes for children, research shows

Lifelong Links, was developed by Family Rights Group (FRG) in collaboration with key stakeholders including local authorities, children in care and care leavers, families, foster carers and social workers, in a bid to help children reconnect and maintain relationships with people important to them.

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The programme, funded through the Department for Education’s Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, sees a Lifelong Links coordinator work with a child to find out who they would like to be back in touch with and who they would like to know. 

The coordinator searches for these people, using a variety of tools and techniques, and then brings them altogether in a Lifelong Links family group conference to make a plan of support with and for the child. This plan is then embedded in the child’s care or pathway plan. 

The programme has been trialled across 12 local authorities in England, with a separately funded trial also taking place in parts of Scotland.

An evaluation report published by DfE, found that children and young people taking part in the programme identified between one and 25 people who they wanted to connect with and almost all of those identified (96 per cent) became connections at a later point in time when the Lifelong Links plan had been made or a Lifelong Links family group conference had taken place.

“While some practitioners raised concerns that Lifelong Links might unsettle children and young people, and the potentially negative impact this might have on placement stability, this was not reflected in our analysis,” the report states.

It also found that Lifelong Links “contributes to children and young people’s sense of identity and their agency, by supporting them to build their own narratives and addressing their needs to build safe connections, restore damaged relationships or to achieve closure”.

Research into the programme found that 78 per cent of children and young people who took part in the programme reported an improved sense of identity. 

Meanwhile, despite concerns from carers that taking part may unsettle children, the DfE found that participation appeared to improve placement stability for those who took part.

Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of the children and young people who were referred remained in their placement in the year following Lifelong Links, compared with 41 per cent for a comparison group which had not been referred to Lifelong Links.

“The evaluation also identified some positive unintended consequences attributable to Lifelong Links. These included restorative work with previous foster carers, and support for children and young people following adoption breakdown. 

“A small number (14) of children and young people also returned home or ceased to be looked after (with a Child Arrangements or Special Guardianship Order) following Lifelong Links,” the report states.