COMPLEXITY AND INTEGRATED CHILDREN’S SERVICES IN THE UK

Abstract

Children's services in the UK have been reorganised in recent years in order to focus more effectively on the needs of children and families. New models of integrated services, such as children's centres and extended schools, aim to strengthen families through a multi-agency response to problems in early childhood. This paper explains the context of integrated services in the UK, explores the research on integration and discusses the implications for collaboration between professionals. It is argued that a particular challenge for integrated services is presented by so-called ‘complex cases’, e.g. children at risk of abuse, who need a range of professionals to work closely together. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests that collaboration is very difficult to achieve in situations of high complexity and risk. The policy response so far has been to emphasise IT-based case management systems, reinforced by tighter managerial and procedural controls. However, this may be ignoring an opportunity to pool the expertise of professionals in order to find innovative joint solutions.