Tags: early intervention

iHV welcomes EIF report on Adverse Childhood Experiences

iHV welcomes the publication of the Early Intervention Foundation’s report – Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don’t know, and what should happen next.

 

This report surveys the evidence relating to the prevalence, impact and treatment of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the extent to which ACEs should provide the basis for frontline practice and service design, and the known level of effectiveness and value of ACE-related approaches, such as routine enquiry and trauma-informed care.

 

 

Commenting on the launch of Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don’t know, and what should happen next, Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director of the iHV, said:

“This report will add real value to the current interest in ACEs, pointing out as it does their limitations as well as their benefits in understanding the impact of adversity in childhood and into later life. Its publication, in the same week as Sir Michael Marmot’s 10 Years On update report on health inequalities, adds urgency to the recognition of the adverse experiences of so many children as a result of an more unequal society as well as their individual circumstances.”

Read more about EIF's report

Download EIF report on ACEs

Download report summary

iHV responds to Children’s care crisis

iHV responds to Local Government Association (LGA)’s analysis on children’s social care, published today, which calls for Government to use the upcoming Spending Round to fully fund the demand on children’s services next year to allow councils to provide the vital support that children and families rely on.

Severe funding shortages and huge demand pressures mean councils were forced to overspend on their children’s social care budgets by nearly £800 million last year in order to try and keep children safe, the Local Government Association reveals today.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV, commented:

“The Institute has long warned that more children entering safeguarding procedures and care would be an inevitable consequence of cutting preventive services such as health visiting which identifies needs in families early, mobilises support for families in need and reduces long-term negative consequences of late identification for these children, such as safeguarding issues and care proceedings. These new figures should be of concern to the whole population as, as well as negatively impacting on the child his/herself and their potential future, these high levels of vulnerable children impact crime rates and criminal justice budgets and increase demand on the NHS from complex health needs.

“One in three health visitors has been lost over the past 4 years and the imposition of unhelpful new ways of working makes it impossible for the profession to adequately offer the necessary long term support that some families need. Alongside the LGA, we also call on the Prime Minister and Treasury to use the upcoming spending review to reinvest into public health, preventative and children’s services. The economic arguments are clear.”

Read LGA article: Children's care crisis: councils forced to overspend almost £800m on children's social care

iHV supports call for more investment into Early Intervention

iHV supports the call by the Early Intervention Foundation for more investment into Early Intervention in England, following the publication of its report, Realising the potential of early intervention. This report sets out a bold plan of action to ensure effective early intervention is available to the children, young people and families who need it most.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV, said:

“The Institute of Health Visiting supports the call by EIF for more investment into Early Intervention in England. We would like to see this extended to research and investment into whole universal systems change, as well as individually focused approaches. For example, health visitors are alarmed by seeing current cuts to their services resulting in many more vulnerable children having their needs recognised late, and needing much more complex and expensive interventions, than if their families had received sufficient early support that health visitors could once offer.”

Go to EIF Report - Realising the potential of early intervention