Minority ethnic children: understanding their pathways through care

Tuesday 28th February 2012, 2.30 – 4.30 Create Centre, B Bond, Smeaton Road, Hotwells, Bristol, BS1 6XN

There have been concerns about the over-representation of minority ethnic children in care in England for many years. This seminar will present the findings of a study that explored the reasons why a sample of minority ethnic children entered care and the decisions that were made about their futures. While there was no evidence that children were being removed unfairly or in a discriminatory way there were significant differences by ethnic group in the characteristics of children and their mothers in reason for entry and in age at referral.

This research stresses the need to understand these differences and highlights the relationship with family honour, domestic violence, mental illness, and drug and alcohol misuse; making recommendations for interventions that are targeted at improving the circumstances and stresses within families that lead to abuse and neglect.  It also raises questions about matching on ethnicity and the quality of assessments and decision-making for minority ethnic children.

These events are free of charge but places are limited, if you would like to sign up please contact Bonnie Curran, Joint Commissioning Team jcu@bristol.gov.uk 0117 9037745, please let us know of any accessibility requirements.