Police show why early help is everyone's duty
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
In a passionate address at the recent National Children and Adult Services Conference, Stuart Gallimore, vice-president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), explained that cuts to his budget in East Sussex means he will have to make decisions about provision he knows don't "make sense" in the long run. He, like other DCSs, faces the dilemma to reduce funding to early help provision to maintain services for children in care and at risk - knowing that doing so could raise the vulnerability of those whose problems are less severe.
He, like other DCSs, faces the dilemma to reduce funding to early help provision to maintain services for children in care and at risk - knowing that doing so could raise the vulnerability of those whose problems are less severe.
The ADCS says a solution would be for the government to review section 17 of the Children Act 1989 so that it better reflects the implicit expectation for all agencies to contribute to early help for children in need. By strengthening guidance, the association thinks it would increase the involvement of other agencies such as health and education in meeting children's welfare needs. Too often, in DCSs' view, academies and health commissioners hide behind organisational bureaucracies to avoid their duty to co-operate on early intervention.
The recent development of early intervention policing initiatives shows that by making organisational changes, agencies can play a greater role in tackling social problems. With help from the Early Intervention Foundation, many police forces have developed new multi-agency early intervention arrangements that recognise the impact of adverse childhood experiences on behaviour (See Analysis).
In the face of rising crime and falling resources, police leaders realised they needed to change how they worked to focus more on helping children and young people who are at greatest risk of becoming offenders. The aim is to disrupt that trajectory and in so doing reduce demand on policing and improve the lives of children and families.
The children and families being worked with through early intervention policing are likely to be the same ones on the radar of social care. They are also more likely to be children who struggle at school academically or behaviourally, and suffer poor health outcomes. This correlation strengthens the case for health and education to play a part in meeting the welfare needs of these children and families.
With additional resources for social care unlikely to materialise in November's Budget, public agencies must work increasingly collaboratively to meet children's welfare needs.
Derren Hayes is editor, Children & Young People Now
