Vulnerable families value childcare

Alison Mercer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Families who are under stress and receiving support from social services find access to childcare particularly helpful, according to a study published by the Scottish Executive last week. Growing Support: A Review of Services for Vulnerable Families with Very Young Children is drawn from a survey of vulnerable families with children under three who had used social work services in different parts of Scotland. More than a third of the families had been the subject of child protection enquiries and more than a quarter had a history of domestic abuse. More than half the families were headed by a lone parent and almost one in five were affected by mental illness, usually that of a parent or partner, while a similar proportion had a history of drug dependency or alcohol abuse.