Outcomes, clinical benefits and cost savings of recurrent care services in the UK: a literature review of the evidence

Summary “Recurrent care,” where parents repeatedly appear in care proceedings and have multiple children removed from their care, carries a high cost in both human and financial terms. The objective of this literature review was to identify the evidence of their impact, cost savings generated, and outcomes produced for birth parents. Searches were undertaken to identify evaluations of recurrent care services involving cost savings calculations. Thirteen articles or reports in total were found, all using mixed methods approaches. Four of these were excluded due to duplication. Participants across the 9 studies totaled 844 birth parents. Findings This first-ever review of the effectiveness of different services to support recurrent care experienced parents found that these services can generate significant cost savings through avoiding care proceedings and placements of children taken into care. In addition, the parents working with these services have a range of positive outcomes as well as some areas (mental health needs) where more support would be required. Applications If regional or national funding is not provided for recurrent care services, then local authorities should seriously consider doing so themselves to benefit from the substantial savings they can achieve. More targeted psychological support is required once mothers have been enabled to meet their basic needs and re-establish trust with professionals.