Disabled children too often subject to intrusive child protection investigations
3 mins read
Wednesday 10 December 2025
A major new study has found disabled children and their families are disproportionately put through invasive safeguarding investigations.
The study in the Journal of Social Work suggests disabled children and their families may be unfairly targeted by child protection investigations when they turn to social care for support.
What did the study find?
A Section 47 investigation involves social workers looking into whether a child is “at risk of significant harm” and deciding whether to take protective action.
University of Lancashire researchers analysed nine years of local authority official census returns for Children in Need and found:
- A 145% rise in Section 47 investigations involving disabled children since 2015, three times the increase for non-disabled children.
- A 95% increase in child protection plans in the same period.
- Children with a disability or mental health concern are more than three times as likely as those without these factors to be investigated by child protection services.
- Regional disparities indicate that responses are shaped more by resource constraints and local thresholds than the needs of children.
Child protection investigations in 2024-5 hit a record high of 230,590, according to latest Department for Education figures. This comes alongside a fall in the number of cases where a child was found to have suffered harm.
“Disability-related struggles misinterpreted as neglect or abuse”
Author Dr Andy Bilson, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, said the pattern suggested “disability-related needs are frequently misinterpreted as signs of parental failure, leading to disproportionate and intrusive state intervention.”
“Rather than indicating greater levels of harm, this pattern reflects widespread misinterpretation of disability-related struggles as neglect or abuse. Social workers, often with limited disability training, approach families as potential risks rather than carers seeking support.”
Contact CEO Anna Bird said misuse of safeguarding investigations was a shocking feature of the disabled children’s social care.
“Families with disabled children need support, not suspicion. Parents are too often subjected to intrusive, parent-blaming and humiliating safeguarding assessments when they ask for a bit of help – only to be offered little or no help when social workers find no evidence of neglect or abuse.
“Disabled children are legally entitled to support, but the current system leaves families scrutinised rather than supported.”
Anna will give evidence today at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights’ enquiry into children’s social care.
Social services turning up with police officers
Families who faced investigations say local authorities misuse the process to avoid providing adequate support and deflect blame on parents.
During research for our NHS continuing care campaign, we spoke to families subjected to safeguarding investigations. Often this was after asking for more help.
One parent was subjected to two safeguarding investigation in one year after asking for more nights of respite. Social services even turned up at the house with police officers.
Another single parent said a social worker threatened to put her seriously ill child in foster care if she didn’t accept a reduced care package.
What needs to change?
The Law Commission’s recent review of disabled children social care law has called for reforms to deliver disabled children clear and enforceable rights and end the culture of “parent blame”.
Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Josh MacAlister, must provide an initial response to the Law Commission recommendations by 16 March 2026.
Contact is calling on the government to implement the reforms in full – in line with our Social Care Asks.
We are asking parents to write to your MP today to urge them to press the government to act quickly.
Find out more about Contact’s position on social care.
Download a detailed explanation of Contact’s social care asks.
