Poverty child abuse and neglect patterns of cost and spending

This article examines recent data on the costs of poverty, child abuse and neglect (CAN), paying particular attention to contemporary and related patterns of spending in England. The discussion reflects on contemporary patterns of spending, approached in terms of the ‘reactive’ spending necessary to deal with the short/medium term consequences of poverty, CAN and the ‘preventative’ spending associated with some interpretations of Early Intervention. The evidence outlined within this article suggests that the financial costs of poverty and CAN are both substantial and associated. Analyses of spending patterns also suggest that, in England, the demand for children’s social services is outgrowing expenditure and that expenditure is increasingly ‘reactive’ and indicative of short term thinking (Jütte et al., 2014). Evidence on the cost effectiveness of Early Intervention, with a focus on working with and supporting families, rather than child removal, also suggests that current spending patterns are financially inefficient.