Inequalities in child welfare: towards a new policy, research and action agenda

Over many years, large differences have been observed between local authorities (LAs) in England in the proportion of children who are ‘looked after’ out of home, or the subjects of child protection plans, with deprivation being identified as the major explanatory factor. This article proposes that such differences be reconceptualised as ‘child welfare inequalities’ and suggests that drawing parallels with health inequalities would have value in a number of respects. Four aspects of child welfare inequalities are suggested. An analysis of officially published data provides new evidence of inequalities between LAs in two key markers of child welfare, and the relationship with deprivation, measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation scores. Although this correlation is unsurprising, there has been a lack of recent research into the extent and the underlying causes of child welfare inequalities, a reluctance to describe differences as inequalities or to propose action on the underlying social determinants. Reading across from the field of health inequalities opens up new directions for child welfare policy, practice, theory and research internationally as well as creating the potential for alliances with others taking action to reduce health inequalities

Child protection in England:An emerging inequalities perspective

In the past forty years both health policy and educational policy in England have adopted commitments to reducing socially created inequalities. However, an inequalities perspective has only begun to emerge in relation to child protection, and child welfare services more widely. This review article charts evidence of these green shoots of a new policy direction which focuses on two aspects: equalising service provision and outcomes for looked after children. The article outlines theargument for a more comprehensive approach to addressing inequalities and concludes by suggesting some implications for policy and practice

Poverty, child abuse and neglect: patterns of cost and spending

This article examines recent data on the costs of poverty, child abuse and neglect (CAN), paying particular attention to contemporary and related patterns of spending in England. The discussion reflects on contemporary patterns of spending, approached in terms of the ‘reactive’ spending necessary to deal with the short/medium term consequences of poverty, CAN and the ‘preventative’ spending associated with some interpretations of Early Intervention. The evidence outlined within this article suggests that the financial costs of poverty and CAN are both substantial and associated. Analyses of spending patterns also suggest that, in England, the demand for children’s social services is outgrowing expenditure and that expenditure is increasingly ‘reactive’ and indicative of short term thinking (Jütte et al., 2014). Evidence on the cost effectiveness of Early Intervention, with a focus on working with and supporting families, rather than child removal, also suggests that current spending patterns are financially inefficient

Social work and health

Social work is a profession that is increasingly involved with issues which have a global dimension. This Handbook tackles the global/local aspect of social work in its various forms and interrogates the key concerns that societies are facing through an international lens. The contributors show that, with an appreciation of commonalities and differences, local practices and appropriate forms of international activity can be better developed