The report, Exploring the Lives of Care Experienced Children and Young People, was produced by Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK) and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen).
It found people who had been in the care system in England as children had a 62% higher risk of dying before the age of 75 compared with those who had not.
It also revealed they were over four times more likely to have a conviction or police caution and were less than a third as likely to achieve a grade 4 or more in English and maths.
Data-driven insights
The report’s findings were generated from five research studies, which each used de-identified data made available by ADR UK, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
ADR UK uniquely links data from different parts of government and opens this up securely to help create unprecedented opportunities for researchers to advance knowledge.
These data-driven insights help to fill gaps in evidence, identify where more support is needed and pinpoint examples of success, such as improved placement stability in England.
Previous efforts to improve the system, despite widespread acknowledgement of its challenges, were hampered by a lack of joined-up information from across agencies and regions.
The findings will enable professionals with an interest in helping children in care and improving the system to consider innovations in children’s social care.
The power of data
Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair, said:
The findings of this report are urgent, and in some cases shocking.
They show the power of data to illustrate the experiences of children before, during and after their experiences our care system.
By linking up a variety of datasets, ADR UK provides researchers and policymakers with the detailed, joined-up information they need to improve our social care system and change people’s lives for the better.
None of this would be possible without ESRC’s long-standing commitment to investing in social science data for the public good.
Other findings
Other findings contained in the report include:
- children living in the 10% most deprived Northern Irish postcodes in 2020 were nine times more likely to enter care than those from more affluent areas
- Scotland is the only region to have seen a drop in the rate of children entering care between 2013 and 2023
- young adults with experiences of the care system in Northern Ireland are nine times more likely to die by suicide
- 63% of voluntary care arrangements in Wales became compulsory within two years, with care proceedings often initiated within four weeks
Identifying challenges
Rosie French, ADR UK Deputy Director, said:
This important collection of research demonstrates the value and versatility of administrative data in identifying the challenges faced by young people who enter the care system.
The studies provide robust empirical evidence of pathways into care, care experience, and life beyond care.
As a society, we must ensure we have the conditions in place for every child to have the opportunity to flourish, including those in the care of the State.
Improving outcomes
Koulla Yiasouma, Chair of Oberstown Children Detention Centre and an ADR UK Ambassador said:
The data in the report confirms what we as practitioners know.
It is stark reading, that care experienced children and young people are dying either suddenly or through suicide.
The research made me think of all the funerals I and colleagues have attended over the 35 years I have been working in this sector, and all the faces of those bright, funny, optimistic young people when we know them, and that now they have gone.
The promise that has been lost. And how our society is the poorer for the loss. How are we not acting on that?
This report provides clear evidence that must be used to inform policy and practice so that outcomes for children, young people and their families can be improved.
The report was launched at an event organised in partnership with NatCen.
Further information
The findings
Entering the care system
Scotland is the only region to have seen a drop in the rate of children entering care between 2013 and 2023
Over an 18-year period, in Wales, there was a shift in use away from voluntary arrangements and towards court orders, with 63% of voluntary arrangements becoming compulsory within two years.
Currently, abuse or neglect is the most likely factor that leads to a child entering the care system in Wales.
A child’s postcode in Northern Ireland can affect their chances of entering care.
In 2010, children from the most deprived 10% of areas were four times more likely to enter care than those from the least deprived 10%, and by 2020 this disparity had more than doubled.
In England, placement stability has improved for children in care aged one to four.
38% born in 1992 had more than one placement which by 2008 had dropped to 14%.
Insights into the lives of those experiencing care
Children are less likely to achieve a grade 4 or more in English and maths if they have been in the care system.
In England, 65% of young people at key stage 4 who achieved grade 4 or above in English and maths had not experienced being in care.
Only 12% who were in the system for less than 12 months and 20% for more than 12 months achieved these grades.
On average, children in England whose lives had been touched by the care system had four times the number of cautions or convictions than children who had not.
Placement stability remains a concern in England.
30% of infants experience three or more placements within two years.
Infants entering care through voluntary arrangements were found to have experienced fewer placements than those subject to care orders.
Data from Wales found that 63% of voluntary arrangements became compulsory within two years, a trend that is now occurring more frequently and rapidly over time.
Data from Scotland found kinship care has become the most common arrangement with 34% living in kinship care in 2023, compared to just 13% in 2006.
Children with experience of kinship care continue to experience lower attendance rates, higher exclusion rates, and lower qualification attainment compared to the general population.
Long-term prospects
In the eight years after leaving school, 25% of children who had experience of the care system in England had not been in employment or education, compared to just 4% among all school leavers.
77% had received benefits at some point in those eight years, compared to 21% among all school leavers.
Top image: Credit: BrianAJackson, iStock, Getty Images Plus via Getty Images.