The ‘baby blind spot’ that affects infants in the care system

A Glasgow Caledonian University social work lecturer recently presented his findings on how the care system is failing infants to policy makers.

Dr Gary Kainth’s research revealed a ‘baby blind spot’ when it comes to the under-fives, who wait more than four times longer for a decision about a permanent placement in Scotland than they do in England.

The cost of delivering care services for infants is also nearly twice as expensive compared to south of the border, according to Dr Gary Kainth, lecturer in Social Work at Glasgow Caledonian University and Honorary Research Associate at the University of Glasgow.

He shared his expertise at a recent event hosted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Scotland. ‘Keeping the Promise to Infants’ was set up to highlight the unique needs of babies and infants in care.

Present were MSPs, civil servants and senior leaders from Children's Hearings Scotland, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, The Promise and Social work Scotland.

The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) Bill is currently going through consultation, and a large part of the bill will be used as a vehicle for Children's Hearings reform.

Dr Kainth’s research project into infant mental health in social care was based on interviews with more than 400 birth families and foster families, as well as social workers, lawyers, clinicians and judges over two and a half years.

He explained the long-term implications of not addressing issues early in childhood that might have been avoided by intervention: the cost to society is estimated at £16.13 billion each year in the UK, according to the Royal Foundation and the London School of Economics.

Around 40% of pre-school children in foster care have mental health problems or are neurodivergent, with conditions such as ADHD/Autism, compared to just over seven percent of their peers.

Dr Kainth recommended that foster carers in Scotland be jointly registered as adopters so that if the child cannot return home to the birth family the foster family could adopt the child.

“Foster carers not being registered as adopters disrupts attachment relationships if the child can’t go home to the birth family,” said Dr Kainth.

He also recommended that Scotland’s current open-ended timelines to decide on a permanent placement either with the child’s birth family, kin or foster carers be limited to 15 months. He believes the timescale in England is too short at six months to reach an informed decision.

The length of time it takes to reach a decision in Scotland explains the disparity of costs to social care: in Glasgow, the mean cost to social care per child over two and a half years is £4,724 compared to £2,782 in London.

“Timescales are too long in Scotland, leading to drift and clogging up of services. Drift in social care decision-making results in legal and social care decisions being out of synch,” said Dr Kainth.

He also recommends that children’s hearings are chaired by someone who has legal training as panels made up of lay members can be too easily swayed or

intimidated by lawyers representing parents. Infants and babies in Scotland are not legally represented, unlike adults and older children.

“Lack of legal expert oversight can result in lack of advocacy for infants, since lay tribunal members are less able to control adversarial proceedings, less likely to make long-term or difficult decisions, and can be swayed by matters other than the facts presented, such as an emotional presentation by a parent, or the child’s behaviour during a hearing,” added Dr Kainth.

“There can be a tension between the rights of parents and the rights of infants leading to a de facto deprioritisation of the infant’s welfare and a lack of the child’s voice in the process. The primacy of the relationship between the child and their birth parents can lead to children being left in neglectful situations longer or returned sooner than is in their interests.

“In the current system, the rights of infants are underserved, creating a baby blind spot. Significant changes are needed if we are to better support the mental health and stability of babies and young children in foster care, providing them with the best possible start in life.”