Bebbington and Miles - Whose children are in care?

Are poor parents worse parents? Whose children are in care? In a landmark study,

Bebbington and Miles 1989 found:

Child'A'.

Aged 5 to 9

No welfare benefits

Two parent family

Three or fewer children White

Owner occupied home More rooms than people

Odds are l in 7,000 of going into care

Child'B'.

Aged 5 to 9

Household head receives welfare benefits.

Single adult household

Four or more children

Mixed ethnic origin

Private rented home

One or more persons per room

Odds are 1 in 10 of going into care

Some 30 years later, in an article in the British Journal of Social Work, Martin Elliot found that

'children in the most deprived neighbourhoods are almost twelve times more likely to enter care than those in the least deprived. Such inequalities are compounded further in times of rapidly increasing entries to care with children entering care being disproportionately drawn from the poorest neighbourhoods, illustrated by a 42-per cent increase in rates between the two years in the most deprived neighbourhoods whilst rates in the least deprived neighbourhoods fell or remained the same.'

The Bebbington and Miles study, and that of Martin Elliot, suggest that children are in care because their parents lack the support mechanisms available to their wealthier counterparts, and the State is unwilling or unable to provide them.