Children's journeys through care in England. Quantitative insights into the relationship between voluntary/compulsory entry to public care and subsequent permanency outcomes.

Section 20 (S20) of the Children Act 1989 makes provision for the admission of children to care following an agreement, entered into, by parents, on a voluntary basis. While, in England, such voluntary agreements represent... [ view full abstract ]

Section 20 (S20) of the Children Act 1989 makes provision for the admission of children to care following an agreement, entered into, by parents, on a voluntary basis. While, in England, such voluntary agreements represent the single most common route into care, and, constitute the basis for which a sizeable proportion of children are in care on any given day, there has been relatively little research focusing specifically on children admitted in this way. This paper arises from a study exploring the journeys of children into, through, out of, and back into, the care system in England; in this presentation focus will be given, in particular, to the pathways, and subsequent permanency outcomes, experienced by children who initially entered care under a voluntary basis.

The study comprised a 100% cohort of children (n=1081) who entered care for the first time in one English Local Authority during a three year period; half of whom were admitted under a voluntary agreement. Data from the Local Authority’s electronic records system was used to track the journeys of the cohort, from initial admission, for 3-4 years. The study reveals the relative frequency, and rate, with which children, admitted under S20, were reunified with their parents, in contrast to experiencing escalation to compulsory measures and alternative permanence options. Application of Multi-State Methodology revealed factors associated with transition to these different ‘states of care’.

While voluntary agreements were devised, in part, to restore the sense that partnership, between Local Authorities and families in difficulty, can be a positive measure, this study raises questions about the ‘success’ of S20. Additionally, this study demonstrates the value of the presently routinely recorded administrative data on children in care in England, as a means of exploring and monitoring temporal changes in children’s journeys and the employment of legal options/powers.