Children in care to get improved mental health support
At a cost of £1 million, ten pilots will run up and down the country in order to trial a new form of mental health assessment which focuses on the individual child and their specific needs as they enter care.
Currently 62% of looked after children have been placed into care as a result of abuse or neglect, which will have damaging and long-lasting repercussions on their mental health and wellbeing. They are often highly vulnerable to emotional trauma and distress and this is not always considered a key priority.
Half of children in care meet the criteria for a mental health condition, and this number is compared to one in ten children who are not within the care system. The procedure will look at the young person’s broader needs relating to emotional and mental health and see whether or not referrals will be made to external and specialist services and agencies so that the young person is fully supported.
The news was announced in June by the Department of Education, but the pilot sites have not yet been determined. Nadim Zahawi, Minister for Children and Families, said:
“Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in society and have often experienced traumatic events, so it is vital they receive care and support that is tailored to their needs.
We want to improve support for every child in care and these pilots will help to provide high-quality mental health assessments when children enter the care system and make sure the right support is in place.”
The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families successfully bid for and has been selected to spearhead the pilot campaign which will take place over the next two years. They will be collaboratively working with Action for Children, Research in Practice, NSPCC and the Child Outcomes Research Consortium to deliver this programme which will cost £240,000. Once the ten pilot sites are known, they will share £650,000 to put the pilots into practice. The programme will identify the types of professionals who it will be beneficial and effective to have on board in terms of holistically addressing the child’s needs to ensure they are at the very core of any assessment. SQW, an economic development and social research organisation, has been given £150,000 to lead a consortium that will independently evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the pilot schemes.
The pilots will undoubtedly be welcomed and embraced across the board. Recently, a former children’s home worker anonymously spoke out to www.communitycare.co.uk about his experience of looked after children and mental health, including chronic underfunding and other issues in children’s and adolescent’s mental health services (CAMHS):
‘Both my colleagues in the home and visiting social workers have been disparaging when the subject of CAMHS has been discussed. And the main criticisms have always centred on the same concerns; the lamentable length of time it takes for a kid to secure an appointment, and when, or if they do, “they must be threatening to jump off a very tall building.”
I recall the disheartening and extremely troubling experience of accompanying two young people to see CAMHS councillors. In the first instance, I was astonished by the councillor’s indifferent and even critical attitude, a manner which clearly intimidated a very vulnerable boy whose refuge in silence brought the session to an abrupt end.
On the second occasion, the young person had a very confident disposition and soon made it quite clear that she didn’t understand some of the words the counsellor was using. I remember her telling him, “you sound like a text book,” and then asking me, “what’s he going on about?” This wasn’t well received and after ten unproductive minutes I was asked to return the girl to the home. So much for respecting the child’s voice, I thought.’