ADCS response to ‘Revolving Door’ report

Responding to a new report by Action for Children, Alison Michalska, ADCS President, said:

“It’s important that children and families receive the right support at the right time and this is not always done via formal intervention from children’s services. Following a referral, a thorough assessment is undertaken and where there are no further concerns or where the threshold for statutory support is not reached it is common for children and families to be signposted to other support services such as children’s centres, youth services and parenting programmes. It is in the best interest of children and families that we provide support at an earlier stage to prevent problems reaching crisis point. But this is getting harder to do as early help and preventative services have faced the brunt of government cuts.

“The impact of seven years of austerity and rising demand on the vital services we provide to children, young people and families cannot be underestimated. Councils are working hard to reduce costs, make savings and minimise the impact of cuts on the communities that we serve by reshaping services and harnessing capacity within the local community amongst other things. But reductions in early help and preventative services have been necessary in order to balance the books. Colleagues at the LGA estimate that children’s services face an expected funding gap of £2bn by 2020. If we are to create a country that works for all children government must recognise the funding crisis of the moment. Without this our ability to protect children and young people from harm will be seriously compromised.”

ENDS

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