Scotland’s care system is taking years to find many of the country’s most vulnerable children permanent homes – and too many of them have no contact with their siblings, according to new research.
The study of more than 1,800 children ‘looked after’ in Scotland reveals that it took, on average, more than two years to find them a permanent home, and more than one in 10 were in temporary placements 10 years after becoming looked after.
The researchers found that 91% of children had experienced maltreatment before being taken into care, and that the proportion of children with emotional and behavioural problems, as reported by caregivers, was five times higher than that seen in the general population of children.
The study also found that the whereabouts of nearly one in 10 (9%) of children was unclear in the administrative data, as there was a lack of “crucial” information.
Researchers on the Permanently Progressing longitudinal study, led by the University of Stirling in collaboration with Lancaster University, and the Association for Fostering, Kinship & Adoption Scotland (AFKA), have been looking at the lives of all 1,836 children who became looked after in Scotland aged five or under in 2012-13, tracking their progress from infant to adult.
Findings of the study included: