Comment on coverage around the ‘Infants born into care‘ report
“Social Work Scotland welcomes the publication of any research into the experiences of Scottish families and communities. We absolutely agree that resources for family support, early intervention and prevention are critical to ensuring that each and every infant and young child has the opportunity to thrive within their family. But unfortunately many parts of Scotland have very limited access to such resources. The Scottish Government’s funding commitments are welcome, but until the full scale of the promised investment is in place, and sustained over a number of years, social workers and other professionals will continue to struggle to provide families with the support they need.
The social work profession is rooted in an approach that values relationships, rights and support, and making decisions about a child’s care are taken very seriously – children should remain with their parents where it is safe to do so. As an organisation representing and supporting social work leaders, we know it’s of utmost importance that we secure those resources, and support our professionals to be able to wrap around families and children at the earliest possibly opportunity. Our ‘Setting the Bar’ report identifies some of the current challenges facing the workforce, and we’re working with the Scottish Government, our members and partners to address these. Equally, we know families are working really hard to navigate challenges like poverty and mental health issues for example, which need a much more coordinated response and investment to ensure children can be supported within their families, or in alternative families where this is necessary. We are keen to engage with the authors of this report to see how their findings can help accelerate the pace of change.”
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