The Centre for excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS) has published an article reflecting on recent Children’s Social Work Statistics for Scotland to examine whether Continuing Care and Aftercare is working for children and young people.
While recent data shows an increase in the number of young people accessing Continuing Care—from 777 in 2023 to 1,115 in 2024—this still represents only 22% of those eligible. The article, written by Kirsty Doull, highlights that nearly 80% of young people who are eligible for Continuing Care are not accessing it, and that significant variation exists across local authority areas. The blog also draws attention to the growing gap between the number of young people eligible for Aftercare and those actually receiving it, raising concerns about inconsistent implementation and the need for more meaningful measures of uptake. Ms Doull suggests there are opportunities to make progress through the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill but stresses the need to better understand how Continuing Care and Aftercare are being implemented and provision is inconsistent across Scotland.
CELCIS calls for a deeper understanding of the barriers to access and urges a more equitable and consistent approach across Scotland, in line with the intentions of the legislation and the commitments of The Promise.
