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The last president of the Association of Directors of Social Services warned its successor bodies to work together and never
forget the links between children’s and adult services.

John Coughlan said the new leadership bodies for children and adult services, which will both be in place by next October, and had to grasp that “children and adults live in families, with needs that are of mutual concern to all of our services”.

In the wake of this month’s children in care green paper, Coughlan said it was important not to blame staff for the flaws in the system for looked-after children.

He warned there would be no “quick fixes” for children in care, especially as they were not a homogeneous group and that it was important to remember that the system had helped many thousands of children.