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
