The proportion of children leaving foster or residential care to return to their birth families in England has fallen from 35% to 21% over the past decade, and more than a third of those who do go home re-enter care within six years. This matters because local authorities have almost no evidence to guide them on how to design and deliver reunification services that actually work. The researchers will embed themselves inside two councils to analyse six years of internal data on children’s care pathways, and interview 30 parents, 10 young people, and 40 service providers and foster carers. They want to understand which children are most likely to be reunified, what causes reunifications to break down, and what support parents and children say they actually need. If successful, the project will produce a national guidance resource and a short film, co-produced with families and charities including the NSPCC and Action for Children. The embedded researcher model means findings will feed directly into policy and practice in the two study sites in real time. The goal is to help the entire children’s social care sector reduce harmful reunification breakdowns and improve long-term outcomes for children and families.
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Research questions What are key barriers/enablers to increasing safe and stable reunifications? What are the support needs and priorities of parents and children/young people? How can Local Authorities (LAs) design, resource, and deliver reunification services that effectively support stable reunifications? Background In England, between 2013 to 2023 the proportion of children leaving statutory care through reunification with their birth family fell from 35% to 21% (DfE 2023). One in five children who are reunified will re-enter care after one year, and over a third re-enter care after six years (Goldacre et al. 2022). The UK Government want LAs to provide "better support for children and parents when children return home" (DfE, 2023b p:75). However, LAs have a severely limited evidence base to guide them when designing and delivering reunification support offers (Hood et al. 2022). Aim To understand how LAs in England can better support stable reunifications Objectives Analyse internal datasets to identify key trends in reunification decision-making and care re-entry. Work with diverse groups of parents and young people to understand their lived experiences of reunification and support priorities. Work with service providers to understand how reunifications can be better supported and barriers/enablers to developing reunification support offers. Use data generated to inform, expand, and strengthen reunification services in the two study sites and develop transferable learning outputs Methods This study was designed with the NSPCC, Action for Children, Torbay Council, Coventry City Council, and parents. The PI will be hosted as embedded researcher in the two LAs. The study uses a convergent mixed-methods design, with interlinking workstreams: Quantitative workstream Analysing internal LA data including Edge of Care, Looked After Children and Reunification trackers to trace children s pathways in/out of care over a 6-year window. Using statistical tests (e.g. t-test, chi-squared test) it will then compare the cohorts of children remaining in care, reunified, and re-entered care. This will identify decision-making trends regarding which children are more likely to be identified for reunification and the key factors associated with reunification breakdowns. This study will then work with the LAs to build capacity for data-informed design, resourcing, and delivery of reunification services long-term. Qualitative workstream Undertaking semi-structured interviews with parents (n=30); young people (n=10); and VCS and statutory service providers (n=20). It will also carry out focus groups with foster cares (n=10) and residential care staff (n=10). This will be supplemented by a dip sample of case notes from Cared for Children reviews (n=40). Data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis providing insight into lived experiences of reunification, support needs/priorities, and barriers/enablers to increasing stable reunifications. Timelines for delivery April 2026 - April 2028 Anticipated impact and dissemination Embedded researcher model will ensure findings inform improved reunification policy and practice within the LAs in real-time. Transferable learning and lived experience insights will be shared via a short film and co-produced national guidance resource. Learning will help the sector deliver more effective reunification support, reduce harmful reunification breakdowns, and improve outcomes for children and families.
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