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Already overwhelmed children’s services are facing rising demand as benefit

游客2024-09-23  7
问题     Already overwhelmed children’s services are facing rising demand as benefit reforms hit struggling parents, all while council cuts threaten to push social care into an awkward place.
    Winter may have arrived early this year, but there are even more severe storms ahead for children’s services and for children and families in difficulty. Indeed, with services already overwhelmed, demand is set to increase further, and the public sector cuts will mean less help for children and fewer workers. All the trends and predictions are indicating a high speed crash for children’s social care. Too dramatic? Just consider the evidence.
    First, the increase in the workload for children’s services and for social workers is continuing, it started around the time that the terrible death of baby Peter Connelly gained so much media attention. Just-published figures for the past year show that the number of children referred to social care services was up again, by almost 57,000; 71,500 more children were identified as children in need; and there was a 17% increase in the number of children who have a child protection plan.
    These are frightening statistics The total number of children in need being assisted by local council social care services and social workers is now 376, 000 and there are 44,300 children in England with child protection plans.
    Let’s be clear about this. These are all children whose lives are very difficult and who are often in considerable danger. The rationing thresholds of local councils now mean that a child or family has to be in serious trouble and beyond a time of severe crisis before any attention is given, and then any help is often limited and may be only temporary.
    Second, the demand for assistance from councils and social workers will continue to rise. Increased poverty as benefits are cut, more children and families falling into poverty as unemployment increases, more family homelessness and disruption because of housing benefit changes, and cuts in schools and health services; all mean more parents under severe stress and less able to provide the emotional and physical care needed by their children.
    Third, with social care services and social workers already overwhelmed and with even more work coming their way, who would have thought this would be a sensible time to be cutting children’s services and social workers? But whether it is councils such as Birmingham, Derbyshire or Cumbria, which recently announced big cuts ahead, or indeed your local council, the picture is set to get even bleaker as the government this week tells councils how little money they will have for next year.
    Hold on to these simple but shocking deductions and do not be fooled by the rhetoric of localism. Less money, fewer services and workers, and increased demand to protect and assist a growing number of very vulnerable children means more catastrophes lie ahead. Local authorities are about to be given the freedom to cut essential care and protection services. But this is a freedom without choice. [br] Which of the following best describes the passage as a whole?
选项 A、Benefit reforms put children’s social care into a dilemma.
B、Council cuts put children’s social care in trouble.
C、An increasing number of vulnerable children need social care.
D、The children’s social care is on the edge of danger.
答案 D
解析 主旨题。本文第一段讲述了福利金的改革和议会资金的减少导致儿童社会关怀服务陷入危机。第二段指出了儿童社会关怀服务的走向和趋势：陷入窘境。第三段至第七段则阐述了儿童社会关怀服务将受到严重打击的三个证据。最后一段再次强调儿童社会关怀服务将困难重重。所以本文主要讲述的内容是儿童社会关怀服务危机重重，[D]“儿童社会关怀服务处于危机边缘”是正确的陈述，故为答案。[A]“福利金的改革将把儿童社会关怀服务置于进退两难的窘境”、[B]“议会资金的减少将把儿童社会关怀服务置于困难之中”和[C]“更多易受伤害的儿童需要帮助”都只是儿童社会关怀服务将陷入困难之中的三个原因，并不能全面概括文章，故均排除。
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