Children's Social Work Statistics Scotland 2014/15

Introduction

What do these statistics include?

We present here information collected from local authorities and secure units on children and young people who were formally looked after, under child protection measures, or in secure care at some point between August 2014 and July 2015.

How do children come to be counted in these figures?

There are a number of ways that a child may come to be looked after, on the child protection register or in secure care. Children may be referred to the Children's Reporter, become voluntarily looked after or come via the criminal justice system. The diagram below gives a high-level illustration of the main routes by which children would be included. See background note 1.1 for more information.