Perspectives from the frontline: exploring the implementation of legislative change into social work practice for brothers and sisters in care in Scotland

Legislative changes aiming to protect and support relationships between brothers and sisters in Scotland’s care system came into force in July 2021. These changes strengthened existing duties on local authorities to ensure siblings live together if they are in care, and to support them to keep in touch if they cannot live together. Drawing on literature and theory concerning policy implementation in a social work practice context, particularly the concept of ‘street-level bureaucracy’, this small-scale qualitative study used focus groups with social workers (n=7) in three Scottish local authority areas one year after the enactment of the legislative changes, and thematic analysis of the findings, to explore the implementation of legislative change into practice. The findings highlight a range of factors facilitating implementation, including increased momentum from broader care system reform in Scotland and enhanced focus on sibling relationships in care planning and review processes. Limited resources were seen to constrain implementation, particularly a lack of suitable placement options for larger sibling groups and limited time for social workers to spend supporting children to have contact with their siblings. The findings inform recommendations in relation to resources, training and learning, and assessment and planning, necessary to facilitate successful implementation efforts.