Ahead of launching the children's green paper,
the Government has been urged to tackle 'tomorrow's underclass' -
the tens of thousands of young people with the most devastating
social needs.
In a new report out today, social care charity Turning Point
argues that the Government is underestimating the size of the
problem. It draws on a host of research to show that the most
vulnerable young people are battling poverty, depression, drink or
drug problems, mental ill health or their parents' drug and alcohol
use. Often, they will be facing a number of these problems in
combination. Turning Point argues that accessible, targeted
services could reach people early on and prevent their problems
escalating beyond control.
Key findings include:
• Nearly 4 million children are living in homes below the poverty
threshold
• Up to 300,000 children in England and Wales have one or both
parents with serious drug problems
• One in five deaths amongst young people is caused by
suicide
• One in four young people aged 11 to 15 have used drugs at least
once
• One in five 11 to 16 year olds drink alcohol at least once a
week
• Approximately 300,000 young people have learning disabilities and
40 per cent of these also have significant mental health needs
Turning Point Chief Executive Lord Victor Adebowale says:
"The most vulnerable young people are dealing with a cocktail of
substance misuse, poverty, mental ill health and abuse. The
Government has a big opportunity to reach out to them and if it
doesn't the social cost will be incalculable - not just to them but
to wider society. We know that today's disadvantaged young people
are far more likely to become the criminals or problem drug users
of tomorrow. And we know that the right services can prevent this
and keep them on track. Much of the Green paper is to be welcomed
but much of it is concerned with bureaucracy, what difference will
it make on the front line? We need to radically rethink how we
engage with young people."
The report highlights the social cost of failing to act
effectively:
• Almost one in three prisoners have been in local authority care
as a child
• Up to one in three people sleeping rough have been in local
authority care as a child
• 53 per cent of homeless people interviewed left school with no
qualifications
• Almost half of male prisoners and one in three female prisoners
had been excluded from school as a child. More than half of
prisoners male and female had left school with no
qualifications
New report says 'Children at Risk' paper must tackle 'tomorrow's
underclass'
Current social care has tended to push young people from one
service to the next with no agency taking responsibility for a
young person's whole needs. Often services only help people at
crisis point rather than intervening early to prevent problems
happening in the first place. The report warns that we need an
expansion of prevention and treatment services working closely
together to tackle a young person's needs as a whole and prevent
them slipping through the net.
The report concludes that services must be accessible to young
people, responsive to their needs and run by skilled staff. It
sets out a series of guiding principles for services based on
Turning Point's experience with the 10,000 young people it sees
each year.
Ends
Notes to editors
Turning Point is the UK's largest social care charity providing
services for people with complex needs across a range of health and
disability issues including substance misuse, mental health and
learning disabilities. Turning Point has services in 188 locations
throughout England and Wales and last year had contact with 73,000
people, 10,000 of them young people.
For further information contact David Chater in the Turning
Point press office on
0207 553 5500
127074492000000000