Children & young people in care more likely to experience mental health issues
By Gemma Raw
New research carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic confirms previous findings, indicating that children and young people in care are significantly more likely to be impacted by mental ill health than those in the general population.
Researchers from the University of Bristol carried out two surveys in 2020 and 2021, targeted at 11-18 year-olds in local authority care. They found that around one in four (22-24%) showed 'cause for concern' regarding their mental health, more than twice as many as would be expected to be found in the general population.
One in five respondents (20%) reported that they had self-harmed before the pandemic, with 18% indicating that they had done so during the pandemic. Several previous studies have suggested that children and young people in care are at greater risk of self-harm, with recent research indicating a figure of around 15% of 12-16 year-olds in the general population.
Access to mental health support
The research also revealed statistics regarding access to mental health support. While many respondents indicated that they had received support from social workers, therapists, teachers, friends, parents or carers, 6-8% reported that they had asked for support but not received any.
When asked if they had felt the need for support during the previous month, 25% said that they had. However, 13-20% of those children and young people indicated they had not received any support. Of those who were accessing mental health support services just before the COVID-19 pandemic, 29% of respondents to the first survey and 22% of respondents to the second survey said that they no longer had access to that support.
Social care workforce pressure
According to the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) 2021 Annual Survey, existing pressures linked to underfunding and increased workloads were 'aggravated by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on funding, on services and on wellbeing'.
Department for Education (DfE) statistics show that, in the year ending 30 September 2021, around 5,000 children and family social workers left social work jobs in England, the highest number in five years.
Increased case complexity
As well as increasing demand for mental health support, the COVID-19 pandemic may also have increased the complexity of cases for children and family social workers. The DfE’s ‘Children and Young People Survey (Waves 1 to 22)’ found that, from March 2020 to March 2021, a number of factors impacted on case complexity, including elevated mental health issues and more cases involving young people self-harming.
"Hundreds of children every week are seen by social workers because they need help with their mental health and we expect these numbers to grow as the full impact of the pandemic is felt," commented Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, in an interview with the Guardian.
Government response
The Government's COVID-19 Recovery Action Plan sets out the measures being taken to improve children and young people's access to mental health support. This includes a £79 million injection of cash, including additional funding for Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges, as well as eating disorder, crisis and community mental health services.
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