Children’s services directors have raised concerns that government policy does not prioritise children, while their previous asks of Whitehall ‘remain unaddressed’.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said its new paper is an ‘urgent call to arms’ to tackle issues facing children and families after the Government failed to address the solutions put forward in its 2017 report.
According to the new paper, the number of children living in destitution has risen threefold to 4.2 million since 2017, while a quarter of young people had a probable mental health condition in 2022, up from one in 10 in 2017.
The ADCS said the national system for children with special needs is ‘profoundly broken’, and children’s social care risks becoming a ‘blue light service’ as funding fails to keep pace with rising demand.
Directors also raised concerns about difficulties navigating the ‘diffuse accountability arrangements’ across the multiple government departments and agencies with responsibility for child and family policy.
ADCS president John Pearce said: ‘Clearly this country is not currently working for all children. We need the Government to recognise this and act in a long-term way.
‘The need for action on child and family poverty, a new approach to funding and addressing the workforce crisis is arguably stronger than ever before.’
The chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people’s board, Louise Gittins, described services for children and families as ‘fragmented’, and called for councils to have the powers and resources to deliver joined-up local support.
