Very young children in need or at risk of significant harm: issues affecting parenting capacity

1
Very young children in need or at risk of
significant harm issues affecting parenting
capacity

• Centre for Child and Family Research,
  Loughborough University
• Rebecca Brown, Emily R. Munro, Harriet Ward

2
Introduction

• Based on preliminary findings from, Protecting
  and Promoting the Wellbeing of Very Young
  Children A prospective study of babies in need
  or at risk of significant harm.
• Study traces decision-making process influencing
  the life pathways of very young children at high
  risk of significant harm from birth until aged
  two.

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Study aims

• Identify whether children with similar needs
  become looked after in some authorities but
  remain at home with family support services in
  others, and to identify the reasons for these
  variations.
• Explore how, and at what point, the decision
  between providing family support services or
  placements is made to explore the extent to
  which certain factors such as assessments of
  parents capacity to address difficulties in
  family functioning, and the likely availability
  of support services influence such decisions.

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Study aims

• Examine what role various participants have in
  the decision-making process, and how differences
  in professional opinion is reconciled. To explore
  whose views have the greatest influence.
• Explore how far birth parents feel involved in
  the decision-making process to examine how far
  certain interventions support or inhibit
  partnership working.
• Assess the extent to which certain decisions
  influence childrens life pathways and promote or
  inhibit opportunities for satisfactory outcomes.

5
Methods

• Case file study to trace each childs care
  history and reasons for key decisions
• Interviews with key decision makers, as near as
  possible to core assessment and at the childs
  1st and 2nd birthdays.
• Interviews with birth parent(s) and/or current
  carers (including HOME inventory), as near as
  possible to core assessment and at childs 1st
  and 2nd birthdays.
• Senior interviews (at end of study).
• Anonymous summary data on cases fitting the
  sample criteria but where parents declined to
  participate.

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Sample Criteria

• All had undergone
• Core Assessment
• Section 47 enquiry or,
• Became looked after before their first birthday
  (including pre-birth assessments)

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Progress

• 10 Local Authorities recruited.
• Sample of 59 babies at high risk of significant
  harm, the majority of whom were recruited between
  October 2006 and October 2007.
• Initial stage of data collection complete and
  data collection at 1st and 2nd birthdays ongoing.

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Babies characteristics and family circumstances

• Many babies in the sample came from families with
  long standing involvement with childrens
  services.
• 49 of parents had suffered abuse in their own
  childhoods, at least 13 mothers and 3 fathers had
  spent time in care or accommodation.
• 70 of case babies older siblings had spent time
  in care or accommodation.

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Parenting Capacity

• Two thirds of families were experiencing one or
  more of the following issues at point of
  assessment
• Mental ill-health
• Domestic violence
• Drug or alcohol misuse
• Mental ill-health and domestic violence were most
  common in sample families
• Severity of difficulties and their impact upon
  parenting capacity to meet the needs of very
  young children was under-recorded

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Typology

• Based on current parental and family issues

• Lower risk factors (17 households)
• Risk factors with evidence of at least one
  protective factors (20 households)
• Risk factors and no evidence of protective
  factors (11 households)

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Lower risk families

• Lower risk families include
• families who have had problems in the past but
  they have since been resolved.
• families where concerns relate to wider family
  and environmental circumstances, or the age and
  vulnerability of the parent.

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Case example

• Child Sandy
• Background Sandys mothers (P.) two eldest
  children were placed in local authority care four
  years ago as P. was misusing drugs and failed to
  protect them from her abusive partner.
• Present circumstances P. is living with a new
  partner, M., who is supportive and caring. P.
  has been drug free for 2 years. They have
  re-located and this has allowed the family to
  distance themselves from previous associates who
  pose a risk to children. Both parents are
  currently meeting Sandys needs. They have
  cooperated fully with childrens services.

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Risk and protective factors

• At least one parent with difficulties relating to
  drug misuse, alcohol misuse, mental ill health or
  domestic violence.
• However, records showed at least one factor
  associated with reduced risk of future
  significant harm was present.

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Case example

• Background C. experienced a neglectful
  upbringing and childrens services were involved
  in her childhood. She now has two children of
  her own, both of whom live with relatives, as
  she was unable to consistently care for them.
• Present circumstances C. is involved in
  prostitution. Her partner, D. has learning
  difficulties, a long history of mental health
  problems and a large number of criminal
  convictions. They are now expecting a baby.
  Although there are concerns that C. has limited
  support, she has been willing to engage with
  professionals and has attended all arranged
  appointments. She has also expressed a desire to
  go to parenting classes once her baby is born.

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Risk factors and no evidence of protective factors

• This group is similar to the last, however the
  key difference is the absence of any demonstrable
  evidence that these parents are motivated to
  address the issues that are impairing or likely
  to impair their parenting capacity.

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Case example

• Case Example Unborn B
• Background K. and M.s daughter (T.) is
  permanently place away from home, having suffered
  emotional abuse and neglect.
• Present circumstance The couple are expecting
  another baby. Little has changed since the
  conclusion of proceedings in respect of T. The
  relationship between both parents is violent. K.
  is schizophrenic. She also regularly takes
  amphetamines. M. is an alcoholic. The past
  history and ongoing problems facing the family
  raise serious concerns about the parents
  capacity to meet the needs of a newborn baby. In
  addition, the couple have failed to attend
  appointments with childrens services or the drug
  and alcohol team.

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Emerging themes and issues

• High proportion of parents who experienced abuse
  or neglect in their own childhoods.
• The pregnancy removal cycle (longstanding
  childrens services involvement, multiple
  children permanently placed away from home).
• High proportion of pre-birth referrals and
  assessments.
• Importance placed on further assessment of
  current parenting capacity
• Parental engagement with services at the point of
  pregnancy facilitating successful outcomes in
  spite of multiple risk factors?