Children’s charities were struggling way before coronavirus – now they’re drowning

Without significant government investment now, we risk putting more young people on the cusp of crisis, writes Alison Body

Covid-19 bitterly exposes the inequalities that already impact our children and families’ lives, argues Alison Body (Getty/iStock)

Children’s charities are in the midst of a funding crisis due to Covid-19. However, let’s not be fooled into thinking they were in a strong position before the pandemic – a decade of policy changes and decreased state funding has left children’s services dangerously vulnerable. For many, coronavirus is just the tipping point.

Charities across the spectrum have been impacted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic, with many services being postponed or moved online, fundraising events being cancelled, and efforts scaled back. Early research suggests charities are predicting a projected loss of a third of their overall income, with over half reducing their levels of service.

With 59 per cent of voluntary sector organisations aiming to benefit children and young people, it is unsurprising that children’s support services have been heavily hit. Indeed, the Childhood Trust reported that over one-third of London’s child poverty charities are at risk of closure due to Covid-19, while one of the largest leading children’s charities, Barnardo’s, has already furloughed over 3,000 of its staff due to funding pressures. And while the chancellor has promised a £750m support package for charities, this goes little way in addressing the estimated £4bn shortfall.

However, as I explore in my new book Children’s Charities in Crisis: Early Intervention and the State, even before the pandemic, children’s charities were calling for greater investment in children’s services as they were struggling to cope. Between 2010-11 and 2017-18, funding for children’s early intervention services decreased from £3.7bn to £1.9bn. Simultaneously, the demand for children’s services has been increasing. Record numbers of children are going into care, while child poverty and children in need of support continue to rise.

Charities are often left providing the frontline services for some of our most vulnerable children. However, interviews with over 80 senior and frontline practitioners within these charities showed me a perceived lack of strategic willingness by government to work collaboratively with charities to meet the needs of children and their communities. Instead, in many cases, commissioning processes, contract management and financial arrangements encourage competition, rather than collaboration; prioritise economic costs over the quality of service; and favour large organisations over smaller, community-based ones.

Covid-19 bitterly exposes the inequalities that already impact our children and families’ lives, with those suffering social, economic or educational inequalities worst hit by the crisis, but it also shines a light on the vital infrastructure and support local organisations provide. As we move forwards, children’s services need to be put at the heart of government policy, to ensure fewer children are on the cusp of care and can receive support early enough to prevent crisis.

Children’s charities are ideally placed to deliver this support but without significant government investment now, we risk having severely diminished services. In the longer term, we must find better collaborative working arrangements between charities, local and national government, which recognise the importance of local, community organisations as part of the social fabric of our communities. Finally, increased funding for children’s services is needed as a priority for local authorities, who hold the statutory duty for early intervention services to invest in grant-making and collaboratively partnering with charities and community groups.

Alison Body is a lecturer in the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research