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According to this article from BBC News, campaign groups in the UK have called attention to the lack of available face-to-face contact for children with parents who are incarcerated, which they say is "crucial in maintaining the relationship between imprisoned parents and children." According to these groups, "the lack of physical contact with their parents has damaged children's mental health and infringed upon their human rights."
"There are calls for foster carers to be prioritised for vaccines as more families are needed to take emergency foster children during the pandemic," says this article from Sky News. "In the UK more than 65,000 children are living in foster care and finding homes for them has been made more challenging by COVID-19, in part due to the reticence of vulnerable carers to take in children."
In this article for the Guardian, Krish Kandiah argues that "any young person ready to make the step to leave home needs the safety net of a family they belong to" and calls for greater supports for young people aging out of care, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions put in place.
According to Northern Ireland's health minister, there has been an increase in the number of children referred to social services since last year, as well as an increase in children on the child protection register and more children in care, says this article from BBC News. "I am acutely aware that Covid-19, and the public health measures we've had to put in place to control the spread of the virus, have brought increased pressure to children and families in Northern Ireland," said Mr Swann in a statement. "In recognition of this, the DoH has put in place a range of…
"As an autistic care leaver, the hardest part of dealing with the Covid pandemic has been the neglect and lack of support I have experienced at my accommodation," writes Kerrie Portman in the Guardian. "When lockdown began, nearly all my university classmates went back to live with their families. But I don’t have the emotional support or safety net of a family. I didn’t see anyone I knew for 13 weeks."
Portman described becoming ill while staying in accommodation. "Though I told staff at my accommodation and my local authority, nobody got in touch to see if I needed anything. I had…
This article from the Guardian explores the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on students in the UK who have been in care. "Coronavirus has had a huge impact on students across the board, but for those who grew up in care, problems have been felt more keenly," says the article. "When lockdown happened, and most students packed their bags and got their parents to pick them up to go home and isolate, many were left behind in university accommodation. With part-time jobs lost overnight and no prospect of the work they’d normally pick up over the summer, some found themselves in financial…
In this blog post for the Parents, Families & Allies Network (PFAN), Andy Bilson emeritus professor of social work and Taliah Drayak, parent with lived experience of child protection and parent advocate and founder of Scots Mums Guide to Safeguarding and Child Protection, write that "the current approach of children’s social care is too often to individualise problems and to search for blame through child protection investigations." The article argues that "we can't afford child protection" - there is a need for a fundamental shift, particularly in light of the COVID-…
In this opinion piece for the Scotsman, Lorraine Moore, Manager of the Edinburgh-based HUB for SUCCESS, expressed concern over the implications of COVID-19 on children in care and care-experienced young people. "I worry that the pandemic could create a lost generation by reducing vulnerable youngsters’ contact with the teachers who so often inspire them to consider further and higher education as a passport to a different life," writes Moore.
Of the HUB for SUCCESS program, which addresses the poor educational outcomes for care-experienced people, Moore writes: "I believe the…
"Foster care [in the UK] is in a “state of emergency” as the number of referrals rockets while the number of people looking to take children in has halved during the coronavirus pandemic," according to this article from the Independent. "Barnardo’s, one of the UK’s largest fostering agencies, recorded a 44 per cent rise in foster referrals to its service during the public health crisis, with the figure increasing to 2,349 between 1 March and 23 April, compared with 1,629 for the same period last year," the article continues. "Delays in family court proceedings due to…
In this opinion piece for the Guardian, Christine Berry explores the ways in which child care work is undervalued and underfunded, despite the economy's dependence on childcare both paid and unpaid, and notes that, while the coronavirus lockdowns expose these issues, little attention is being paid.
Berry writes that the closure of schools and nurseries should have brought more light to these issues but that "the burdens of lockdown childcare have been quietly absorbed in the home, disproportionately by women." Berry notes that the coronavirus lockdowns should have led to…