Councils gear up to tackle needs of refugee children and families

The plight of refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa has in recent months captured the attention of both the public and media as shocking images emerged of tens of thousands of people, young and old, attempting the dangerous journey to Europe in search of safety.

This mass migration has seen the numbers of people trying to enter the UK unofficially grow and, as a result, there has already been a marked increase in numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the country.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement last month that the UK will accept up to 20,000 people directly from Syrian refugee camps over the next five years is likely to further increase the number of children in need of some form of support.

So what will the likely impact be for local authorities?

When Cameron announced the plans to resettle refugees, he stressed that orphans and vulnerable children would be prioritised.

In light of the fact that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are automatically entitled to looked-after status under the Children Act 1989, the pledge could potentially have a significant impact on overall numbers of children in care, already at a record level of 69,540 as of March 2015.

But asylum experts agree that, in reality, very few unaccompanied children will be coming to the UK as part of the resettlement programme.

Finding family members

Kamena Dorling, policy and programmes manager at Coram Children's Legal Centre, points to the fact that when dealing with unaccompanied children in refugee camps, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that is assessing which refugees will be resettled in the UK is usually able to find a relative who can look after them.

"The experience is, on the whole, that when they encounter an unaccompanied child, they will usually be able to find an extended family member," Dorling says.

"They very rarely encounter unaccompanied children for whom it is appropriate to resettle them as an unaccompanied child.

"My understanding is that, under this resettlement scheme, we are more likely to see vulnerable children as part of a family unit."

Local authorities may have a responsibility to children who are resettled as part of a family under section 17 of the 1989 act if they are deemed to be "in need".

Host councils will be required to link up with agencies overseeing the resettlement of families under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (SVPRS) run by the Home Office.

Judith Dennis, policy officer at the Refugee Council, which is involved in providing another refugee resettlement scheme that SVPRS is based on, says families will receive support that is initially intensive, but reduces gradually over a 12-month period.

This will include an introduction to their new area and being put in touch with classes to learn English, education for children or employment services for adults. Families will also be put in touch with children's services if a child has any specific needs.

"We do resettlement really well in the UK through the Home Office, UNHCR, voluntary agencies and local authorities," Dennis says.

Specialist services

"But there is a lack of therapeutic services for refugees. Some of them have had terrible recent experiences. Local authorities need to think about the need for specialist services that have the capacity to support refugees and understanding of the kind of experiences these people have had."

David Simmonds, chairman of the Local Government Association's asylum, refugee and migration task group, says specialist council staff should be involved in the assessment process before refugees arrive.

"Specialist council staff should now be involved with the Home Office and UNHCR from an early stage to assess the needs of refugees before they arrive in the UK," he says.

"Matching offers of help with the needs of individuals as early as possible is vital in ensuring we avoid any trauma felt by individuals and families being prolonged after they arrive in the UK.

"Some of the most vulnerable will also need support from health and social care services to cope with injuries and disabilities from the conflict and to recover from the severe trauma they have experienced."

Unaccompanied children

Greater pressure is likely to come from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children making it into the UK by other means. Where they have no parent or guardian in this country, the presumption is they become looked-after under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.

The number of looked-after children who are unaccompanied asylum seekers has increased by 35.6 per cent in the past two years, up from 1,940 in March 2013 to 2,630 in March this year.

But in the past six months, indicators are that the pressure on services has grown further. The number of asylum-seeking children under Kent County Council's care has increased from 630 at the start of August to 720 in September.

That compares with around 220 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under the age of 18 as recently as March 2014.

A local government-run voluntary dispersal scheme has already been started to relieve pressure for entry point local authorities in response to the rise of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children over the summer. As a result, a total of 28 local authorities have taken on 50 children in care.

But Alison O'Sullivan, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), says there must be a more formal approach developed.

"There was a big surge in the number of young people arriving in Kent via the Channel Tunnel, and Kent was really struggling.

"Quite a few local authorities stepped forward and offered to take children from Kent and provide them with ongoing care and support.

"Since then, we have been having conversations with government and the Local Government Association to work out a more sustainable response to this.

"The South East, and Kent in particular, are reaching the point where they cannot adequately meet the needs of these children."

Ilona Pinter, policy adviser at The Children's Society, says the organisation wants unaccompanied children to be allocated independent guardians to help them navigate the complex processes they will face, such as resolving their immigration status or accessing accommodation.

The system is currently being introduced for child trafficking victims, but unaccompanied asylum seekers will not receive any help.

Independent guardians

"We have always campaigned for independent guardians to be available for separated children, but I think the case is made stronger now that people are realising the vulnerability of these children and the complexity of their needs," Pinter says.

"There are concerns about the cost implications, but we did some cost analysis with Unicef last year and the view is it could be a more cost-effective system because their needs will be properly assessed and supported through the process."

Both The Children's Society and Coram Children's Legal Centre also want children to be given clarity on their long-term status rather than the current system whereby a child may be granted temporary leave to remain only to have their asylum application denied when they reach the age of 18.

"Children should be getting the most permanent form of status they can be given so they can plan for their future in the UK," Dorling says.

"Otherwise they are just living in limbo until they are 18."

Refugee crisis leads to increase in foster care inquiries at the fostering network

Media coverage of the refugee crisis has led to an increase in people coming forward to provide foster care for children affected.

Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, says his organisation has had a significant increase in contacts from people who have never considered fostering before and specifically want to care for Syrian children and their families.

He says while the rise in interest is welcome, many lack understanding of how the approval process works and the amount of time it takes.

"The perception is very much that people will be able to come forward and take in a child, or a family, but this is not the case," he says.

"While there are added pressures on local authorities, particularly the 'gateway' authorities of Kent, Croydon and Hillingdon, the approvals process for foster carers will not be changing, so people who do want to care for a child will have to become approved foster carers.

"It's unlikely that any fostering service will approve people to foster if they are only interested in fostering refugee children, because there is an ongoing need for more foster carers for a wide range of children throughout the UK."

Williams also says the high level of support needs that refugee children have mean children's professionals are well placed to become foster carers.

"In order to provide stable longer-term support to refugee children, we would encourage people who have experience of working with children who have suffered trauma or loss to apply to become foster carers," he says.

He advises such people not to "rule yourself out" before contacting local fostering services to see if their skills and experiences can provide stable homes for children.

He adds: "It is also important that people from the same communities or who speak the same languages as refugee children, who are already settled in the UK and who will be able to support a smooth transition for children arriving unaccompanied, come forward."

Crisis in numbers

• 20,000 number of Syrian refugees the UK has pledged to rehome through a Home Office relocation scheme
• 35%* scale of the rise in unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from 2013 to 2015
• 720 number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children aged under 18 being cared for by Kent County Council, up from 220 in March 2014
• 4.3m** Syrians have registered as refugees and fled their country since the beginning of the conflict in 2011

Source: *DfE; **United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees