Directors admit parenting concerns

Concerns over the ability of adult social services to support their clients’ parenting roles are “legitimate”, service directors have said.

The admission came after the government announced a review of adults’ services support for socially excluded parents and their links with children’s services.

Anne Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said: “It was challenging when we had [generic] social services departments and it remains a challenge now.”

The issue has become particularly pertinent since the split between adults’ and children’s services. A report last year from the Commission for Social Care Inspection found councils lacked protocols for supporting parenting between children’s and adult services.

The families at risk review is focusing on an estimated 140,000 families with five or more indicators of social exclusion, such as unemployment or parental mental illness.