Linking administrative datasets about looked after children. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

The Scottish Government’s Looked After Children Data Strategy (2015) seeks to provide a robust and reliable body of data to realise the policy ambitions set out in the Scottish Government’s strategy Getting it right for looked after children and young people: Early Engagement, Early Permanence and Improving the Quality of Care. The Data Strategy specifically seeks to enhance knowledge of the outcomes for looked after children through linking administrative datasets to provide a broader evidence base and inform more effective interventions. The Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland study is following the progress of all children who became looked after in Scotland aged five or under in 2012-2013 (n=1,836). In Phase One (2014-2018), the study tested the feasibility of linking administrative data from the Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) with data from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) and created a linked dataset. This briefing paper summarises key finding and contributes towards the discussion on how best to maximise the potential of rich data to underpin effective policymaking and interventions regarding looked after children in Scotland. Key findings Linkage of CLAS and SCRA data was possible, but time consuming and complex. Using date of birth, gender and local authority as identifiers, records were successfully matched for 1,000 children. Across the total sample, 67% of children had records which matched as expected, leaving 33% where records either did not match or matched unexpectedly. There was considerable variation across local authorities in the rate at which data matched; from 54% to 97%. Two fifths (418) of the 1,000 linked children had a previous referral recorded by SCRA. Almost 60% of the children who had a previous referral were under one year old at the time. For most (88%) of the 418 children, the previous referral did not lead to a Children’s Hearing. For one in five children there was an appeal to the sheriff, but for the majority (81%) there was no appeal

Pathways to Permanence for children who become looked after in Scotland. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

Statistics from 2018 (Scottish Government 2019) show that 14,738 children were looked after in Scotland (at 31st July 2018). Many children who become looked after away from home will return to their parents, but for some the decision is taken to permanently place them with kinship carers, long-term foster carers or adoptive parents. Until now little was known about children’s pathways through the looked after system in Scotland, the balance of voluntary and compulsory intervention, and how patterns of placement change over time. Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland is increasing understanding by following the progress of all children who became looked after in Scotland aged five or under in 2012-2013 (n=1,836) and investigating decision making, permanence, progress, and outcomes over a four-year period (until 2016). This briefing paper, drawing on findings from Phase One of the project, provides insights into the pathways and timescales to permanence for looked after children in Scotland, with implications for policymakers and practitioners. Key findings There was a statistically significant association between levels of deprivation and local rates of children looked after. Local rates may also reflect variation in the approaches of local authorities, Children’s Hearings and local judiciary. Almost half of children looked after away from home were initially looked after under Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (known as ‘voluntary’ accommodation). The majority of the children (87%) had a single continuous ‘episode’ of being looked after during the four-year period. However, an episode may include periods spent looked after at home and/or looked after away from home. As an episode may include placement moves, a ‘single episode’ does not necessarily mean the child experienced stability. The most common destination for children ceasing to be looked after away from home was a return home. The number of children looked after in kinship or foster care fell over the four years, reflecting a rise in the number of children who returned to parents, were placed with kin on Section 11 Orders or were adopted. Children who achieved permanence most quickly were those reunified with parents. A total of 212 children looked after away from home had been adopted by the end of Year 4. The adoption process was slow, with few children adopted before Year 3, and for half of the adopted children the adoption did not take place until three to four years after they started to be looked after. Children who were adopted or with prospective adopters by the end of the study were significantly younger when they started to be looked after away from home. For children looked after at home, the time spent on a Compulsory Supervision Order spiked at 9-12 months. This may reflect a response to legal requirements, as the maximum time a CSO can be in place without being reviewed by a Children’s Hearing is one year, suggesting that decision making may, in some cases, be system-driven rather than needs-led. For nearly one third of the children looked after away from home, there was no evidence that they were in a permanent placement three to four years after starting to be looked after

Pathways to permanence for children who become looked after in Scotland

As its name suggests, a key concern of the Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland study is the question of permanence for children who become looked after away from home. The aim of permanency planning is to ensure that children have a permanent home which can provide them with the physical and relational stability, and the emotional security essential to child development. Depending on their histories and circumstances, children may find a permanent home through reunification with their parents, permanent placement with kin (or in some cases with friends) either within or outwith the looked after system, or through long-term fostering or adoption

Linking two administrative datasets about looked after children: testing feasibility and enhancing understanding

This report on the linkage of Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) with data from Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) is one strand of the Permanently Progressing? study. The study is the first in Scotland to investigate decision making, permanence, progress, outcomes and belonging for children who became ‘looked after’ at home, or away from home (with kinship carers, foster carers or prospective adopters) when they were aged five and under. Phase One ran from 2014-18 and is designed to be the first phase in a longitudinal study following a large cohort of young children into adolescence and beyond. Phase One was funded by a legacy and was undertaken by a team from the universities of Stirling, York and Lancaster in conjunction with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland

Permanently Progressing? Building Secure Futures for Children in Scotland: Linking two national datasets about looked after children in Scotland to enhance understanding of pathways to permanence

Background Permanently Progressing? is the first cohort study in Scotland aimed at understanding the factors associated with achieving settled and secure permanent homes for children. One part of this study involves analysing the national Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) collected by the Scottish Government, to follow a group of children who became ‘looked after’ or ‘looked after and accommodated’ aged five or under. However, important decisions about these children are made at Children’s Hearings and the information about these decisions is stored in a database collated by the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration (SCRA). Objectives As these two datasets have never before been linked, the researchers aim to test the feasibility and success of this linkage. In addition, analysis of the linked dataset will allow both a description of the pathways of children who became looked after in 2012-13, and a comparison of the pathways for children who have achieved permanence at the end of year 4 to those who are on a pathway to permanence, and those still accommodated with no evident permanence plan. Methods In this project, the anonymised CLAS data obtained from the Scottish Government are being brought together with anonymised data held by SCRA, using probabilistic linkage methodologies. Findings The linkage and analysis of this data is currently underway and will be discussed during this presentation. Conclusions If successful, this linkage will serve as a pilot study for future research, help inform policy and practice, and enable the researchers to gain a more in-depth picture of a child’s journey through the system and the factors associated with children achieving permanence. The success of this linkage and challenges encountered will be discussed

A Four-Nation Comparison of Kinship Care in the UK: The Relationship between Formal Kinship Care and Deprivation

The practice of extended family and friends helping to care for children when their parents are unable to is an enduring tradition in many cultures. Kinship care provides the largest proportion of out of home care in Western society but many of these carers experience poverty and deprivation, and do not receive comparable levels of support, financial or professional, to other placement types. This study provides UK evidence for the relationship between kinship care and deprivation and examines how the welfare state frames kinship care in policy and practice

Exploring Social and Locality Variations of Dog Bites in Scotland Using Administrative Data Sources.

Objectives Previous research has shown that hospital admissions for dog-bites are highest in the most deprived areas across England and Wales. In Scotland, thus far there has been no rigorous empirical investigation into social inequalities in dog-related injuries. This study aims to address this gap through analysis of linked administrative data. Approach The study uses administrative health data from NHS24 calls, A&E and SMR01 records involving dog-related injuries linked to Scotland Census micro-data. Area-based measures of social circumstance are considered through the SIMD, along with an exploration of novel, area-level characteristics including measures of local greenspace, average garden size and dog populations. Individual/household level measures of social circumstance taken from the Scottish Census are used to compare the characteristics of individuals with health records involving dog-related injuries to a random sample of individuals not appearing in the health data sets. Results When looking at individual level records and during modelling at aggregate area level, SIMD was an important factor in all models. Whilst some variation was observed across the different types of health data, the number of records, incident risk ratios and odds ratios were all consistently at least 2-3 higher when comparing the most to least deprived areas. Accounting for dog populations and introducing interaction terms for SIMD decile by dog population increased the main effect of SIMD. When comparing individual/household level measures of social circumstance taken from the Scottish Census, occupation-based measures such as NS-SEC appeared to be relatively important predictors of risk, alongside ethnicity, household composition and age, with children disproportionately represented. Conclusion Incident rates of dog-related injuries were higher in more deprived areas and circumstances where individuals may be seen as more socially disadvantaged at the individual or household level. Social/legal policies related to dog-bites typically don’t consider social disadvantage in any meaningful way. These results show the importance of doing so

Born into care in Scotland: circumstances, recurrence and pathways

The report was commissioned as it is important to understand more about the circumstances in which removal of babies shortly after birth takes place in Scotland, and the work undertaken with parents to prevent separation where possible, and the children’s pathways and permanence outcomes

Born into care in Scotland: circumstances, recurrence and pathways

The report was commissioned as it is important to understand more about the circumstances in which removal of babies shortly after birth takes place in Scotland, and the work undertaken with parents to prevent separation where possible, and the children’s pathways and permanence outcomes

Permanently Progressing? Building Secure Futures for Children in Scotland: Pathways and outcomes for looked after children

Background Each year many children in Scotland who cannot be cared for by their birth parents become looked after by Local Authorities. Where reunification is not an option, children need to be settled as soon as possible in safe and secure alternative homes. However, more research evidence is needed to guide the placement decisions that are so crucial to children’s wellbeing. Objectives The Permanently Progressing? study aims to help identify factors that are associated with children achieving a permanent home. The study hopes to inform policy, planning and practice in relation to young children who cannot live with a birth parent. Methods Using the Children Looked After Statistics that are collected by the Scottish Government from all 32 Local Authorities, the study followed a group of children who became ‘looked after and accommodated’ at age five or under (n=1355) in 2012- 13. Children’s pathways through the system over a four-year period were investigated and compared to another group of children aged five or under who became ‘looked after’ in the same year but remained with their birth parent(s) at this time (n=481). Findings The paper discusses children’s pathways through the looked after system, together with factors which may influence these pathways, such as age when becoming looked after, number and type of placements, and types of permanence achieved 3-4 years after becoming looked after. Conclusions This longitudinal analysis of administrative data offers unique insights into factors that may influence child welfare system responses to vulnerable children, which will be discussed, along with issues surrounding the difficulties associated with the definition and measurement of outcomes using these data