The inter-relationship between parental problems and ethnic background: How do they impact on entry into local authority care?

Both parental problems and being from certain ethnic minoritized populations are associated with an increased likelihood of children entering local authority care. This study explored the intersection of these factors in the UK. Population-level administrative datasets were linked to create a dataset of school-aged children living in households in Wales, between 2016 and 2020 (n = 431,584). Multilevel logistic regression models were used to look at care entry for different ethnic groups, controlling for key factors. Crude odds ratios using sub-populations of children from different ethnicities were used to explore effects of risks on sub-populations. Models showed that when parental risk factors and levels of deprivation were controlled for, all ethnic minoritized populations were more likely to enter care than White children. Subgroup analysis showed substantial differences in the effects of risks for children of different ethnicities. The results suggest different reasons for care entry vary by children's ethnicity and highlight inequalities in care entry. The findings highlight the urgent need to carry out work to ensure that social care provision is non-discriminatory and culturally sensitive. This article considers how the impact of parental problems, such as substance misuse and mental health problems, on the likelihood of a child entering care, varies according to a child's ethnicity. It also looks at how much difference there is in the likelihood of children from different ethnic minoritized populations entering care when parental problems are taken into account.