Managing the Risk and Saving Money with Specialist Domestic Abuse Services
- Claire Verney
- Sep 17
- 9 min read
With ever-increasing pressure on children's services, this article examines the strong rationale for expert services that can help to avoid the emotional and financial costs of care proceedings and child removals due to domestic abuse
Counting the cost of children's social care
Recent reports have shed light on the eyewatering costs to children's social care of court proceedings, foster placements and child removals. Any practitioner that has visited a children’s care home or has experience of working with care leavers is fully aware that this spend is not reflected in the outcomes for these children. In addition to their high cost, the detrimental impact on children of being removed from their birth family and the longstanding trauma that is experienced by family members in care proceedings is well evidenced.
2024 saw a 7% increase in the number of children placed into care compared to 2019. The shortage of fosterers means that this has resulted in a 45% increase in those being cared for in children’s homes. A snapshot of some of the statistics concerning local authority spending on child removals includes:
A recent estimate of the cost to the local authority for a case in care proceedings is around £120,000. The overall cost of the court process represents 10% of the children's social care system's annual expenditure.
In 2023 more than 37,000 children were received into foster care. The minimum cost of this UK wide is in excess of £850,000,000 per annum.
Research by The Independent at the end of 2024 highlighted the staggering cost to UK local authorities of children’s care home placements, with an estimated cost of over £10,000 a week. 9 councils were paying £20,000 or more per week for their most expensive residential placement, with some even paying these amounts to council-run homes. The Independent reported that last year there were over 8,000 children looked after in care homes, which will have cost an estimated 2.4 billion pounds.
Domestic abuse and children's social care
The way in which statistics are collected and categorised means that it is difficult to discern what proportion of removed children were as a direct consequence of exposure to domestic abuse. Anecdotal evidence from social care practitioners suggests that the percentage of children in this category is significant.
Therefore, effective management of the risk to children posed by domestic abuse has the potential to reduce costs in childrens social care by avoiding escalation to care proceedings and child removal. Decades of experience in domestic abuse cases and children's social care indicate that the following factors are likely to increase the costs to children's services:
Difficulties with decision-making processes;
Information sharing policies and protocols that restrict vital information to professionals involved in the case;
Poor understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and abusive relationships which leads to misunderstanding victim behaviour, not recognising perpetrator manipulation or disguised compliance;
A shift in focus to another area of parenting, thus obscuring the real source of risk;
Using an expert without a specific expertise in domestic abuse who is therefore unable to provide clarity, move the case forward, recommend an effective intervention or provide realistic risk management plans.
Funding interventions for parents that are generic and do not address the child protection concerns.
Saving money through early intervention
The irony is, that all practitioners know what medical professionals have known for years. That prevention is cheaper, more effective and in all ways preferable to cure. Despite this knowledge, at the sharp end of social work practice, there is a constant reminder of the legacy of austerity, with practitioners struggling to source interventions and access resources for the most vulnerable children and families. Often, resources do not become available until cases have escalated sufficiently to require action. We are in an environment where preventative earlier action is seen as ‘desirable’ but only becomes ‘essential’ when harm has already occurred and the family is well on the way to irretrievable breakdown - the financial and personal costs of which will become astronomical.
Often, families that reach care proceedings have been known to services for a long time with children yo-yoing on and off child protection measures. There is a dearth of expertise in this field which has been repeatedly emphasised in serious case reviews for decades. Roger Gough, children’s services spokesperson for the CCN, stated:
“This analysis is another example of a children’s social care system that is broken. Local authorities are operating in a false economy of paying increasingly astronomical sums for placements and less on preventative services".
Saving Money with Specialist Assessments and Treatment Programmes
Specialist assessments and programmes can assist children's services to intervene effectively at an earlier stage and avoid care proceedings.
Assessments - A Family Safety Risk/Vulnerability Assessment can help early responses to be more effective by:
Clearly identifying the risk concerns so that there is no confusion about what the issues are and which are the most important. To get to grips with the potential dangers in a situation and therefore plan properly it is crucial that we identify who did what to whom and under what circumstances. Where there are allegations of abuse from both parents it is important to clarify where the danger really lies - who is in control, who is afraid and how might the analysis of the relationship dynamic help us to understand the greatest risks to the children.
Providing a realistic risk management plan that is unique to the individual family and their circumstances. The plan should prevent the case from escalating to court proceedings, but if necessary, it will clarify thresholds in order to progress the case in a shorter timescale.
Employing specific expertise related to domestic abuse. Too many times the correct assessment is selected only after a lengthy period of trial and error which wastes time and money. Assessments that focus on other issues, such as parenting or psychological factors, which often arise as a result of the domestic abuse fail to address the core difficulties within the parental relationship. The case is finally able to progress when these issues are fully explored and the risks identified. Domestic abuse occurs as a result of a complex array of static and dynamic factors and it is vital that the expert understands the way in which these combine to create risky situations for children.
Treatment Programmes - A bespoke treatment programme can also aid early intervention by ensuring that:
The focus remains on the source of risk. Sometimes it is easier to focus on the problems which can be more easily addressed, and working only with the victim because they tend to be more compliant and there are numerous interventions to choose from. This can create a false sense of the risks being 'managed' when in fact the source of greatest danger, the perpetrator, is left untreated. A domestic abuse perpetrator programme that meets home office guidelines means that resources can be concentrated on the area where the greatest concern lies and will include a linked support service that will provide support to the victim.
The right programme is delivered at the right time. Perpetrators who avoid culpability for their behaviour and discount its effects on victims are among those least likely to make progress on a treatment programme and will most likely be found unsuitable for a behaviour change programme. Where a perpetrator is willing to attend an intervention a motivational programme can help move them to a position where they can take greater responsibility for their actions and be suitable for behaviour change work that will aim to reduce the risk to the children. Interventions for mothers should also be chosen carefully. Most community domestic abuse programmes offer excellent education, support and advocacy to victims, however, their generic nature that uses an academic learning style, may not meet the needs of women involved in children's services. Where the needs of the mother are complex, with enduring problems around adult attachments, accountability and prioritising their children’s safety, more intensive, challenging and focused work is needed in order to support lasting change.
The programme matches the child protection concerns. Generic programmes often fail to meet the needs of victims and perpetrators involved with children's social care, as they tend to have more complex presentations. A bespoke intervention with a tailored treatment plan means that a programme can more effectively target those behaviours that are of concern to the local authority.
The intervention is overseen by an expert risk assessor and includes a robust final report. Many community-based programmes do not include oversight by a risk assessor independent from the practitioner delivering the programme. Generic interventions are available but are often seen as a panacea - The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel Annual Report in 2019 raised this as an issue of concern stating;
We are concerned that child protection practice, when domestic abuse is the main issue, is at risk of becoming automated: where parents had attended particular domestic abuse programmes, attendance in itself was considered to be a protective factor, reducing the risks to children… This gave a sense of reassurance to practitioners which proved to be false.
An expert risk assessor can provide supervision throughout the programme and a rigorous final report that can revisit risk levels following completion. Attendance on a programme does not guarantee a reduction in risk therefore an independent expert view on whether the risk has been successfully lowered is essential for child safeguarding.
While the above provides a strong rationale for the use of specialist support it is also important when considering where to place resources that the right service is used with assessors and programme workers that have specific expertise in domestic abuse.
How DVACT-PAI can help
DVACT-PAI experts are able to complete assessments and treatment programmes with victims and/or perpetrators for cases, regardless of the status of the case or the status of the relationship. Our Family Safety Assessments examine the use of abuse used in the relationship and the impact of this on the children and victim, with a risk management plan for each member of the family. DVACT-PAI's bespoke programmes provide focused and specialised treatment programmes for both victims and perpetrators with risk assessor oversight and a final report. Programmes can be delivered as a standalone intervention or as a Partner Abuse Intervention which is delivered alongside a full Family Safety Assessment.
DVACT-PAI are responding to a gap in provision for families who are affected by domestic abuse but are unable to access robust clinically appropriate interventions that help manage the risks to children by offering a new wraparound service, Partner Abuse Interventions. This ties together expert assessment based on empirically derived indicators and targeted treatment aimed at achieving genuine progress for parents in protecting their children. DVACT-PAI Clinical Manager, Tracey Boylan, with over 30 years’ experience in forensic responses to domestic abuse launched the new service saying:
“The inspiration behind the development of this intervention has been the persistent delays in childcare proceedings resulting from a failure to source appropriate interventions at an earliest stage. The process whereby expert assessments make recommendations for further work at final hearings contains a built-in delay because treatment options which would enhance the safety of the children and potentially increase the capacity of carers to protect them are considered within the tightest possible timescales. Further adjournments can often occur while work is sourced, takes place and is assessed for effectiveness. Even then it is often the case that an intervention is too generic or insufficiently robust to offer a realistic prospect of change and the children have waited longer for permanence and stability”.
The intervention will involve the delivery of assessment and intervention combined and is suitable for use with families in Child Protection measures, PLO and Family Court Proceedings. At the end of 16 weeks the parent will have completed a full expert assessment, 12 weeks of intervention and a final assessment of progress. The local authority receives an initial report explaining the risk/vulnerability levels and risk management plan including the most suitable intervention and the treatment goals. This is followed by a detailed final report with an updated risk management plan. The purpose of the intervention will be to move the case forward and make genuine progress towards the child protection goals. This may mean a shift from denial to acceptance of the need for change or a shift from acknowledging the need for change to making real changes.
The intervention is suitable for the vast majority of parents who have been involved with domestic abuse. Their current position and circumstances will usually determine the type of progress they are expected to make. See below for an example of typical presentations and the nature of the work/progress to be made.
For further information contact the DVACT-PAI Programmes team at programmes@dvact.org
References and resources
The case for change: The independent review of children's social care
Article - Councils forced to halve spending on early help services for vulnerable children https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/councils-forced-halve-spending-early-help-services-vulnerable-children
The Independent - Hundreds of children’s care places are costing councils more than £10,000 a week per child https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/childrens-care-home-council-cost-b2664949.html
Helplines and resources for Parents
Helplines are available in the UK as follows:
National Domestic Violence Helpline – 0808 2000 247
The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors – 0808 801 0327
Respect phoneline for perpetrators of domestic abuse - 0808 8024040
Childline - 0800 1111 you can also go to https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/
NSPCC (Monday to Friday 8am – 10pm or 9am – 6pm at the weekends) - 0808 800 5000 or Contact counsellors 24 hours a day by email or online reporting form help@nspcc.org.uk
About us
DV-ACT are a team of domestic abuse experts, available throughout the UK, who provide assessments, programmes, consultancy and training to local authorities and the family courts. Our experts have decades of experience working directly with domestic abuse perpetrators and victims, as specialist assessors and as expert witnesses in the family courts.
DV-ACT was formed with the aim of using our expertise to help safeguard children from abuse, this is at the heart of everything that we do. To read more about us please visit our post - Who are DV-ACT?
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