Children's services are dealing with more than 560 cases of children with mental health problems every day, council leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association is warning of the "children's mental health crisis" and said local authorities are struggling to cope with the demand for services.
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “It is clear we are facing a children’s mental health crisis, and councils are struggling to provide the support young people so desperately need."
There were 205,720 cases where a child was identified as having a mental health issue in 2017/18, compared with 133,600 in 2014/15 – up 54 per cent.
Preventative services which can help identify mental health problems early on before they escalate have been slashed due to funding cuts. Councils are being forced to target funding at the rising numbers of children in care. There are currently 75,420 children in the care of councils, who since 2010 have also overseen an 84 per cent increase of children on child protection plans to keep them safe from harm.
As a result nine in 10 councils are being forced to overspend their children’s social care budgets.
The LGA says it is essential all these services are properly funded if councils are to give children the care and support they need, and prevent them from developing mental illness. Council leaders are calling for the government to inject desperately needed funding into children’s services, which face a £3.1 billion funding gap by 2025, in the Spending Review.
Cllr Bramble added: "Significant funding pressures in children’s services and public health mean many councils are being forced to cut some of the vital early intervention services which can support children with low level mental health issues and avoid more serious problems in later life.
“It is absolutely vital that the government adequately funds these services in this year’s Spending Review, so we can tackle this urgent crisis and make sure children get the help they need. It is the least they deserve and the consequences of not tackling this crisis now can be devastating for young people and their families," she concluded.
A look back at 2022 with WillisPalmer's Head of Practice, Lucy Hopkins…
2022 saw people trying to get back to some degree of normality following the Covid-19 lockdowns, restrictions and school closures that we had faced for the previous two years. However, the impact of Covid-19 continued and many services experienced, and continue to experience, backlogs and difficulties, including those services relating to children and families.
Social worker [...]
Every year people are excited to see what the theme of the John Lewis & Partners Christmas advert will be. This year's advert reminded our Head of Practice, Lucy Hopkins, of all the times she arrived at the homes of foster carers with children or young people who were anxious, scared, worried and hungry, having just [...]
The WillisPalmer Christmas Tree Decorating Competition 2022
We have two Christmas trees at the WillisPalmer office and this year the staff upstairs are going to compete with the staff downstairs to see who has the best decorated tree... and we want YOU to decide on the winner!
Tree 1 - Downstairs
Tree [...]
A Mackman Group collaboration - market research by Mackman Research | website design by Mackman