Parents Whose Children Are Looked After Away from Home: From Rescue to Partnership Kevin Pilkington

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Parents Whose Children Are Looked After
Away from Home From Rescue to Partnership?Kevi
n PilkingtonGlasgow School of Social Work
University of Strathclyde(k.pilkington_at_strath.ac
.uk)Seminar for the Glasgow School of Social
Work April 27th 2006
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Parents - The centrality of poverty and gender
inequality

• Lone parent women reliant on benefits children
  11 more likely to be accommodated away from home
  (Wedge and Prosser, 1973)
• 62 of children accommodated come from a lone
  parent background (Holman, 1980)
• 90 of child care social work clients in receipt
  of state benefits (Becker et al, 1987)
• 1985 and 1992 78 of children in SRC admitted
  to care from households reliant on benefits 90
  of lone parent households headed by lone mothers
  (Buist, 2000)
• A 2002 study of families who use the childrens
  hearings system (N 1090) highlighted that 50
  of the families were lone parent households 69
  relied on benefits and 93 of these households
  were headed by a women. (McGhee and Waterhouse,
  2002)

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Classification showing causes of separation of
children from their parents in The Parish of
Glasgow, 15th May 1906.

• Both Parents drunken, been in prison etc. 245
• Parents sent to prison (Cruelty to Children Act)
  34
• Father dead mother drunken and immoral 341
• Father in hospital, seriously ill mother dead
  48
• Mother in hospital, seriously ill father dead
  29
• Father in hospital mother drunken 32
• Mother dead, father been drunken, in prison, or
  in desertion 136
• Illegitimate mother been drunken, immoral, or in
  prison etc. 258
• Father dead mother unfit, not suitable, unable
  to control, etc. 133
• From variety of causes, such as Remits from
  Sheriff, one parent
• dead, other in asylum, illegitimate through
  bigamous marriage etc. 37
• Total 1293
• Source Report of the Royal Commission on the
  Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1909, Scottish
  Evidence. Submission by Mr J. R. Motion,
  Inspector and Clerk for Glasgow Parish Council,
  P.P. Cd. 4922. Glasgow City Council Regional
  Archives, D-HEW Series, cited in Pilkington, 2006)

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• Deserving and undeserving poor dichotomy
• Policy of separation (rescue)
• Unfit mother on statute

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• The experience which those charged with the
• administration of the Poor Law have acquired
  since 1850
• has established that it is hurtful in practice to
  grant
• relief otherwise than in the poorhouse to the
  following
• classes- Mothers of illegitimate children,
  including
• widows with legitimate families who may fall into
  
• immoral habits Deserted wives...Wives of
  persons
• sentenced to terms of imprisonment or penal
• servitude...Generally speaking, all persons of
  idle,
• immoral, or dissipated habits
• (McPherson, 1909, p.11. Cd.4978, cited in
  Pilkington,
• 2006).

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• The Board is quite aware that it would be most
• inexpedient in many cases to comply with such a
• request but the Board are afraid that an
  absolute refusal
• to allow a mother to communicate with her child
  is a
• measure that would not be supported by public
  opinion,
• and that it might have an injurious effect in
  exciting
• prejudice against the boarding-out system. If the
  mother
• were told that the information could not be
  afforded, but
• if she persisted in her demand relief would be
  withdrawn
• and afforded only in the Poorhouse to herself and
  child, it
• appears not improbable that the Parochial Board
  might
• succeed in effecting their object
• (J. Skelton, Secretary of the Board of
  Supervision, April 29,
• 1889, cited in Pilkington, 2006)

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• Before concluding our report, it may be as well
  to mention a visit
• paid to Jane Perrie by her mother, who tramped
  all the way, in
• company with a chimney sweep for the purpose of
  seeing her
• daughter. This importation for the time being,
  caused some little stir
• in the village, and did no good to our boarding
  system, as good
• guardians will not run the risk of having such
  visitors calling upon
• them. It is a great pity but that powers could be
  granted to Parochial
• Boards, whereby parents of depraved habits should
  be refused the
• address of their children who are in the hands of
  the Board and also
• in cases where parents may have obtained their
  childrens address
• and visit them, otherwise action be taken against
  them, and some
• punishment inflicted.
• Source Minutes of Childrens Committee Barony,
  September
• 20,1886.

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Case Histories unfit mothers

• This is the case of a widow, 31 years of age, a
  field
• worker, whose earnings were small and uncertain.
  She had
• six children, aged 12, 11,10, 8 and 4 years and
  one infant,
• illegitimate, a month old, born in widowhood. The
  children
• were suffering a great privation as she was
  unable to earn
• sufficient to support them, and they were left
  alone for
• long periods while their mother was out working.
  The Societys
• Inspector advised her to apply for parochial
  relief, but she
• positively refused to do so, as she feared that
  on account of her
• illegitimate infant, she would be offered the
  poorhouse. The case
• was specially brought under the notice of the
  Inspector of the
• Poor by the Society, and, as the mother was not
  considered a
• proper guardian, he at once had the five children
  boarded-out.
• The mother is now able to support the infant in a
  satisfactory
• way
• (Edinburgh Prevention of Cruelty to Children
  Society , 1910
• 406-407, cited in Pilkington, 2006).

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Case Histories unfit mothers

• He has on numerous occasions assaulted his wife,
  seizing her
• by the hair of the head and beaten and kicked her
  and
• threatened to murder her and for protection she
  has been
• obliged to keep one or other of the aforesaid
  children from
• school each day, in order that they could be sent
  for the
• police if necessary...the other members of the
  family he
• describes as fuckers and by his cruel treatment
  and
• threatening language they live in a state of
  terror of him...In
• respect of the conduct of the said father
  towards his children
• aforesaid, it is desirable that they be taken
  from his custody
• and committed to the care of a fit
  person...within the meaning
• of the said Act, the more especially as his wife
  aforesaid
• refuses to live with him as his wife in future
  and she having no
• means of maintaining them herself
• Childrens Act, Criminal Officers And Female
  Assistant
• Inspectors Reports. 1919-20, VOL X. Glasgow City
  Council
• Archives. D-HEW 28/8, cited in Pilkington, 2006)

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• Children on the Poor Roll Scotland, June 30,
  1945 Summary Report by the Department of Health
  for Scotland. Year ended 30th June 1945. Cmd.
  6661. Edinburgh HMSO.
• In Poorhouses 176
• In children's homes
• provided by local
• authorities or in
• detached blocks of
• poor law institutions 710
• In orphanages, approved
• schools 966
• Boarded out in private homes
• (a) with relatives 883
• (b) with strangers 4494
• Total 7229

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Legislation and Policy under the Welfare State

• The Children Act, 1948 (10 11 Geo. 6. c.43.)
• The Children and Young Persons Act 1963 (c.37).
• Kilbrandon Report (1964), Report of the Committee
  on Children and Young Persons, Scotland,
  Cmnd.2306. Edinburgh HMSO.
• The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.49).
• United Nation Convention On the Rights Of the
  Child (1989 UK 1991)
• Scottish Office (1992) (Skinner Report) Another
  Kind Of Home A review of residential child care,
  Scottish Office, Edinburgh HMSO.
• The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.36)
• The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, Regulations and
  Guidance, Vol. 2, Children Looked After by Local
  Authorities, Edinburgh Stationary Office.
• Regulation of Care (Scotland ) Act 2001

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• Kinship defenders prevention and rehabilitation
• Society as parent permanence
• Partnership with parents

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• Distribution of responses by field and
  residential social workers on the significance of
  poverty in increasing the likelihood of children
  being accommodated in childrens homes N 30x2
• Social Workers Residential
  Workers
• Cases Cases
• Highly 11 37 6 20
• Very 8 27 8 27
• Frequently 7 23 12 40
• Occasionally 1 3 4 13
  
• Rarely 3 10 - -
• Never - - - -

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RSW - Frequently significant

• I would say it plays a factor in about half the
  cases maybe even
• more. I dont know how much of this is
  self-inflicted though. We have
• cases where parents have spent the money we have
  given them for
• access on drink.
• I grew up, in fact still live in the area where
  some of our children
• come from, but you have to remember that poverty
  is important, the
• stress and things, but it is also about attitude.
  How people deal with
• poverty.
• Parents are often very needy. Im sure poverty
  doesnt help. It would
• be wrong though to suggest that poverty was the
  main reason. Most
• people in poverty manage fine. For some people
  poverty is obviously
• important. But sometimes parents have only
  themselves to blame. It
• wouldnt matter how much money they had.
• Poverty is not easy, but we are not living in the
  third world. If
• parents were taught how to manage their
  benefits/money better then
• this would help. But I suppose that has been
  tried. The attitude of a

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SW - Frequently significant

• Poverty can be a major stress within families,
  which may contribute to, but not cause situations
  leading to children being accommodated in
  childrens homes
• If not the most significant factor, often
  connected. For example, areas of poverty often
  have high levels of drugs and alcohol misuse.
• Drugs and alcohol abuse is most problematic,
  child care standards rapidly decrease if parents
  have a drugs and alcohol dependency.
• The problem with drugs, especially, is more
  pressing than poverty.

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• Distribution of responses by field and
  residential social workers on their perceptions
  of the parenting skills of parents whose children
  are accommodated in childrens homes N
  30x2
• Social Workers Residential
  Workers
• Cases Cases
• Excellent - - - -
• Very Good - - - -
• Good 2 6 1 3
• Satisfactory 3 10 6 20
  
• Poor 16 54 17 57
• Unsatisfactory 9 30 6 20

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SW Poor Parenting Skills

• Varies from parents being concerned enough to be
  involved in wishing to change themselves, to
  parents who are verbally and emotionally abusive
  towards the child in care. I find that the
  majority of parents I am involved with did not
  enjoy good parenting in their childhoods.
• All of the parents I have come across have had no
  positive experience in their lives of good
  parenting. Often they have learning difficulties
  and at a personal level have limited coping
  abilities. Their needs are Number 1.
• Their skills are generally poor, which is why,
  after, all their children are in care.
• Parents of children in care are on the whole
  neglectful, provide poor nutrition and hygiene
  standards.
• There have been occasions when parenting skills
  have been excellent but generally this has not
  been the case.
• In the majority of cases the parenting skills are
  poor affected greatly by addiction problems.
  However, I have also seen very able parents
  struggling with adolescent children who make the
  wrong choices in their friendships.

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• Distribution of responses by parents, field
  and residential social workers on whether parents
  contribute to the planning of their childs care
  N 30x3
• --------------------------------------------------
  --------------
• Parents Yes 11 36
• --------------------------------------------------
  --------------
• Social Workers Residential
  Workers
• Cases Cases
• Always 2 6 2 6
• Frequently 8 26 4 13
• Occasionally 14 46 10 13
• Not very often 6 20 14 46
• Never - - - -

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RSW Parents not very often involved

• In my experience the majority of parents rarely
  take the opportunity to get involved in care
  planning, although there are some exceptions.
• A lot of parents dont seem that bothered that we
  have taken over the care of their child.
• Usually most of the ideas, discussions have taken
  place before it is even discussed with parents.
• Parents are not helped to participate enough and
  even when they are their views are usually not
  explored in any detail.
• In my experience parents contribute little to
  care plans. Residential workers play too much of
  a leading role.
• More recently parents are becoming more involved
  in the care plans for their child, but this I
  feel was not always the case and we have a bit of
  catching up to do. If parents are not actively
  demanding or showing real commitment to this then
  we tend to resort back to making decisions on
  their behalf and seeking agreement at meetings.

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The way forward?

• Expenditure and accountability..
• Education..
• 21st Century Review.

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Care Commission (2004)

• Young people spoke about how vital it is to
  stay in contact with families and frequently
  rated it as one of the most crucial standards.
  While some were given help to keep in contact,
  others were not. Young people must be helped to
  maintain these vital links. Time and resource is
  needed to make sure that partnerships are made
  with families and parents (39).