Attachment Matters for All - An Attachment Mapping Exercise for Children's Services in Scotland

As part of the first phase of the Looked After Strategic Implementation Group (LACSIG), the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) undertook research into care and
permanence planning for younger children in care.1 They focused on 100 children all aged under four years old when they first came to the attention of services and examined how long it took from that point to achieve permanence. For over 90% of children this process took longer than two years and more than half had still not achieved a permanent placement four years after first contact with services. Several children had also experienced multiple placements, with transitions between carers often occurring at critical developmental points. The research highlighted the negative impact on long-term outcomes of such continued disruption of children’s attachments.