New ADCS chief warns of 'stored up' care demand
Thursday, April 23, 2020
There is likely to be a “huge spike” in demand for children’s social care as the country recovers from the Covid-19 crisis, England's new children’s services leaders chief has warned.
In her inauguration speech, delivered online, Jenny Coles, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services in 2020/21, said the need for care and protection services is being “stored up” as a result of the pandemic, with demand on children’s services falling significantly since the introduction of social isolation measures four weeks ago.
“When we do return to benign times, as we surely shall, I am worried about the pressures being stored up for us and what we might have to tackle, all of which comes on top of severely stretched and woefully under-funded children’s services,” Coles said.
“I expect we will see huge spikes in demand across the children’s social care spectrum.
“Referrals to children’s social care are low at the moment, for obvious reasons, as the biggest sources of referrals, police, health and schools, are occupied elsewhere.
“I fear we will uncover new unmet need in the child in need space but more worryingly, in the child protection space.
“There is a very high probability that we are building up a backlog of new care applications which may result in more children needing to come into care.”
She warned that the economic fallout from Covid-19 was likely to “plunge even more children and their families into poverty” as many more experience the “wholly inadequate provisions of the welfare state.” Keeping poverty high on the agenda will be a continuing priority for ADCS in the coming year, she said.
The implications of Covid-19 will be “most profound” for children and young people who are facing months of lost socialisation and learning due to school closures, for some social isolation will be “compounding and exacerbating their worries and anxieties”, she added.
Coles, director of children’s services at Hertfordshire County Council, paid tribute to local government staff, public services and local politicians “for their amazing work” and acknowledged that there are “even greater expectations of local government” than usual because of the outbreak.
She also praised the work of the “hidden frontline” - social workers and foster carers to residential children’s homes workers and staff in residential school settings – and the role of local authorities in “building, maintaining and strengthening relationships in local communities” and the “reaffirmation of the strong partnerships that exist between the local authority and schools”.
“I sincerely hope the spirit of working together continues long after the pandemic is over in the best interests of communities but, crucially, in the best interests of children and young people.”
Coles takes over as president from Rachel Dickinson, who stepped down as DCS in Barnsley last month. Her vice president is Charlotte Ramsden, DCS in Salford.
