Poverty

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling child poverty as part of a wider strategy for tackling poverty and inequality across Scotland: Child poverty - Poverty and social justice - gov.scot

Most families experiencing poverty provide safe and loving homes and practitioners should be careful not to stigmatise families through highlighting the impact of poverty in families. However, poverty can cause as well as accelerate neglect and the risk of other harms. Consideration of the impact of poverty on children is a core consideration in child protection assessment and family support.

Recent research indicates the disproportionate number of children placed apart from their families within the poorest neighbourhoods in Scotland. Poverty intersects with other stressors upon families, including disability, mental health problems, ill health, poor housing, barriers to employment, poor literacy skills, learning disabilities and racial discrimination.

Practitioners need to be alert to the corrosive impact of poverty upon the physical and mental wellbeing of parents, carers, children and young people. Community-level poverty can also limit the capacity for members of the community to provide informal social support.

Poverty is frequently entrenched across generations and severely limits children’s life chances and prospects. Poverty alone must never be a reason for removal of children from the care of their family. Safeguarding of children in Renfrewshire encompasses support for migrant families who have no recourse to public funds; these families face a high risk of poverty and destitution. Guidance on migrant rights and entitlements can be found here.