Child welfare inequalities in the four nations of the UK

Citation

Bywaters P, Scourfield J, Jones C, Sparks T, Elliott M, Hooper J, McCartan C, Shapira M, Bunting L & Daniel B (2020) Child welfare inequalities in the four nations of the UK. Journal of Social Work, 20 (2), pp. 193-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017318793479

Abstract
Comparative International data on patterns of inequality in child welfare interventions, for example, the proportion of children about whom there are substantiated child protection (CP) concerns or who are in out-of-home care (CLA), are far less developed than data about inequalities in health. Few countries collect reliable, comprehensive information and definitions, methods of data collection and analysis are rarely consistent. The four UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) provide a potential 'natural experiment' for comparing intervention patterns. This study reports on a large quantitative, descriptive study focusing on children in contact with children's services on a single date in 2015. It found that children's chances of receiving a child protection intervention was primarily related to family socioeconomic circumstances, measured by neighbourhood deprivation, within all four countries and in every local area. There was a strong social gradient which was significantly steeper in some countries than others. Ethnicity was another important factor underlying inequalities. While inequalities in patterns of intervention between the four countries were considerable, they did not mirror relative levels of deprivation in the child population. Inequalities in intervention rates result from a combination of demand and supply factors. The level and extent of inequity raise profound ethical, economic and practical challenges to those involved in child protection, the wider society and the state.

Keywords
Child protection; Child welfare; Looked after children; Out-of-home care; Inequalities; Social Gradient; Ethnicity

Journal
Journal of Social Work: Volume 20, Issue 2

People

Ms Jade Hooper

Research Fellow, Social Work

Dr Marina Shapira

Associate Professor, Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology