One of the highlights from my brief time at Conference was a presentation given by Iain Duncan Smith on Social breakdown. it powerfully highlighted the problems faced by children and young people today and he made the point that when the state intervenes to put children in care things tend to get worse. Only 12% of children in care get 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above and nearly half all under 21s in the criminal justice system were in care. And much of the serious crime that occurs on our streets is caused by young people, especially those in gangs, He made clear that the major cause of this is the impact of neglect, with outcomes often being determined in our earliest years. He showed evidence comparing the human brain of a normal 3 year old to one who had been seriously neglected. The latter child's development had been stunted with different parts of the brain unable to make connection
Truly shocking stuff. IDS's Centre for Social Justice is doing sterling work highlighting this issue and proposing solutions - they have 237 proposed polices in the wings. I recommend taking a look at his presentation for more information:http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/downloads/20080930ConservativePartyConferenceMainstage.ppt
