Poverty, child abuse and neglect: patterns of cost and spending

This article examines recent data on the costs of poverty, child abuse and neglect (CAN), paying particular attention to contemporary and related patterns of spending in England. The discussion reflects on contemporary patterns of spending, approached in terms of the ‘reactive’ spending necessary to deal with the short/medium term consequences of poverty, CAN and the ‘preventative’ spending associated with some interpretations of Early Intervention. The evidence outlined within this article suggests that the financial costs of poverty and CAN are both substantial and associated. Analyses of spending patterns also suggest that, in England, the demand for children’s social services is outgrowing expenditure and that expenditure is increasingly ‘reactive’ and indicative of short term thinking (Jütte et al., 2014). Evidence on the cost effectiveness of Early Intervention, with a focus on working with and supporting families, rather than child removal, also suggests that current spending patterns are financially inefficient

Social work and health

Social work is a profession that is increasingly involved with issues which have a global dimension. This Handbook tackles the global/local aspect of social work in its various forms and interrogates the key concerns that societies are facing through an international lens. The contributors show that, with an appreciation of commonalities and differences, local practices and appropriate forms of international activity can be better developed

Income inequality and child welfare interventions in England and Wales

Background Previous research has identified a relationship between income inequality and child abuse and neglect in the USA. This association has received limited exploration outside the USA. Methods Administrative data on child protection (CP) in 172 English and Welsh local authorities between 2013 and 2018 were combined with data on deprivation, ethnic density and education from publicly available data sources. Commercial income data were used for Gini coefficient estimation. We tested whether similar evidence for three key findings from a US study could be found in England and Wales. These included whether there was evidence of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment, whether this relationship was non-linear and whether this relationship varied dependent on the level of poverty. Results There was a significant non-linear relationship between income inequality and state care rates in England and Wales. Predicted state care rates were higher as income inequality increased, up until around average levels where the effect flattens. However, there was no significant relationship for models predicting CP plan/register rates. Income inequality, income deprivation, ethnic density and higher education were able to explain around 75% of the variance in English and Welsh state care rates. Conclusions There is some evidence to support the claim of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment beyond the USA in England and Wales, and a case for further comparative research, but there are significant limitations in the comparability of data.</p