Hundreds of care children suffered maltreatment, study shows

Hundreds of young children who entered care around seven years ago had suffered multiple forms of maltreatment before being removed from their parents, a study has found.

An academic project has tracked the experiences and pathways of all 1,836 children in Scotland who became looked after, either at home or away from home, in 2012/13, when they were aged five or under.

The study, led by the University of Stirling, was based on a survey of social workers in 19 local authority areas.

Researchers found that almost 90% of the children studied had experienced abuse or neglect before entering care.

Around seven in 10 of the cases of abuse and neglect that occurred while children were in the care of their parents, were described as being of "high severity''.

Experts studying a strand of 433 of the youngsters found that two thirds of them had suffered maltreatment in multiple forms - including neglect and emotional, physical and sexual abuse - before being taken away from their mothers and fathers.

Half of the 433 children were under a year old when they became looked after away from home, including almost a third (32%) who were under six weeks old.

One in five of the children (21%) were less than seven days old, the study found.

Lead academic, social work expert Dr Helen Whincup from the University of Stirling, said: "This is the first research project to investigate decision-making, permanence, progress, outcomes and belonging for all Scotland's children who became looked after when they were aged five years old and under.

"Our findings highlight that prior to becoming looked after away from home, family life was difficult for these children, and some had experienced multiple 'types' of maltreatment.''

Researchers also found that parents had often also experienced difficult and disrupted childhoods, with the report showing that 62% of mothers and 33% of fathers with children on a pathway to adoption had experienced neglect as a child themselves.

Teams from the Universities of York and Lancaster, in partnership with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, were also involved in the project, part of a wider project entitled Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland.

Dr Linda Cusworth, of Lancaster University, said: "The decision to remove children from their parents was generally based on significant maltreatment, together with the experience of multiple problems - including parental substance misuse, domestic violence and mental health problems.

"Often these factors came within the context of poverty and housing issues."