Demonising parents is not the answer

Stripping parents of much needed cash as a punishment for their children’s behaviour could conceivably lead to the complete disintegration of already fragile family units, warns a senior Teesside University academic.

Dr Raymond Arthur, a Reader in the School of Social Sciences & Law, fears government proposals to penalise parents of truanting children will severely destabilise what are already disadvantaged and vulnerable families.

And, argues Dr Arthur, “knee jerk” reactions – like the call to scrap benefits for those families whose children were involved in last year’s riots – is fundamentally ignoring the root problem and encouraging a blame culture and “shameless” society.

Instead Dr Arthur, who has spent years researching justice for children and families, believes that policies should look to strengthen the family and improve parenting skills in order to prevent truancy and juvenile offending.

'Demonising parents, like demonising children, will exacerbate a situation that for many parents is already complex and strained,” said Dr Arthur.

'In the early years of children’s lives the aim should be to strengthen families, enabling them to play a full part in controlling their children’s behaviour, and not to penalise families or to take responsibility away from them.'

Currently the system of fining parents of truanting children is difficult to enforce as a high percentage of unpaid fines go unprosecuted. The government is considering proposals which would see fines docked directly from their benefits.

Figures from the Department for Education suggest that around 43,000 pupils are playing truant from secondary schools in England every day with pupils from poorer homes far more likely to skip class.

A link between truancy and offending was noted in the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey which found 62% of truants admitted to offending and/or anti-social behaviour.

And in reference to last year’s riots, of the young people who appeared in court, 64% lived in one of the country’s fifth most deprived areas and only 3% lived in one of the five least deprived areas.

A need to acknowledge the root problem Dr Arthur said that though there is a direct link between truancy and offending, imposing financial penalties is not the solution.

'If the government is serious about tackling truancy and youth offending, then rather than threatening parents with severe financial penalties, resources should be allocated to intervene positively in the lives of young people,' added Dr Arthur.

'Not only must the child be attending school, but the child’s experience of school and the extent to which they enjoy school, do well and achieve good results is a significant factor.

'The proposal to take child benefits away from families fails to acknowledge, let alone provide, a means to tackle the social and familial roots of truancy, crime and disorder.

'To financially punish parents of young offenders could lead to the disintegration of already fragile family units. It will guarantee that families who are amongst the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the country will be penalised, despite the fact that the treatment they will receive is likely to harm them further and compound their problems.'

Dr Arthur is also critical of the government’s Troubled Families Unit which will coordinate intensive support for troubled families across central government departments and will see £448 million spent on turning around the lives of 120,00 troubled families.

'Even the title "troubled families" creates negative connotations and reinforces stereotypes,' said Dr Arthur.

'Although in theory 120,000 sounds like an awful lot of families, in reality it is around just 1% of the number of families who need help and support.'

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