Public service cuts and ‘stark impact of poverty’ are causing worse outcomes for children, according to survey

In this paper, two researchers with backgrounds in ethnography describe and reflect on their experiences from a qualitative, transnational study called 'Back to the Future: Archiving in Residential Children's Homes (ARCH) in Scotland and Germany. Important goals of the study are the investigation and development of digital community archives for young people, care workers and care leavers from residential homes in order to support their memories of shared everyday life.

Lack of adequate housing, welfare reforms and families lacking access to public funds adding to pressures on children's services in England, according to an Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) survey.

This report, from Ireland, provides a comprehensive exploration of the principles and practice of independent advocacy for children and young people with care experience, with a view to signposting what constitutes best practice in this field and proposing a model of advocacy practice which reflects the key themes arising. Resulting from a research project carried out with EPIC (Empowering People in Care), the report draws from the views of those who have experienced advocacy as children and young adults, those who have provided advocacy as professional independent advocates, management personnel responsible for the provision of those services in the context of EPIC and significant stakeholders in the field of advocacy service provision. 

Using group-based trajectory modelling on Swedish children born 1990–1999, this study identified six distinct patterns of out-of-home care placements that varied in onset, duration, and type. Findings show greater parental disadvantage among children entering care earlier, highlighting the need for early intervention and family-centred prevention strategies.

An analysis of 14 national foster care policies across six European countries found that while most acknowledge children’s cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds, they provide little concrete guidance on ensuring relational and cultural continuity—particularly for children with migrant backgrounds. The study highlights four policy patterns, including prioritizing adult over peer relationships, emphasizing parental contact over extended family or transnational ties, assuming Western cultural norms, and struggling to balance immediate care needs with maintaining cultural and relational connections.

This is a recording of a presentation Dr. Patricia Lannen, the principal investigator of the “LifeStories project”, delivered during a meeting of the Evidence for Impact Working Group of the Transforming Children's Care Collaborative on 2 October 2024. LifeStories is a 60-year longitudinal study of individuals placed in infant care institutions.

Christians have a long-standing involvement in the care of children, both at home and overseas, with many of those at the forefront of establishing orphanages and residential settings motivated by their faith to take action.

You’re invited to the upcoming webinar Including support for informal kinship care in policy on 6 November at 13:00 UTC. In this webinar, panelists will explore and demonstrate how kinship care can be included in policy and supported without formalisation.

This briefing looks at what data and statistics are available about children in care to help professionals, and the organisations they work for, make
evidence-based decisions.