Mapping the Landscape of Community Care for Children, Young People and Families: A Co-Produced Project

In increasingly strained socio-political-economic contexts, reliance on community supports deepens, particularly for those failed by or unable to access appropriate care through statutory services. However, little is known about the scope, equity-oriented provision or the conditions that enable and constrain community care.

This mapping addressed these gaps, exploring community services in London and Greater Manchester, supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing. Co-produced with co-researchers and community stakeholders from conceptualisation to dissemination, we conducted a systematic scoping of community-based services, not government-provided or commissioned, offering free mental health or wellbeing support for children (0–18 years), carers, or families. We extracted service characteristics and equity-oriented provision, and provider and stakeholder insights informed a collaborative narrative synthesis.

We identified 297 eligible services (261 London, 41 Greater Manchester), with 48.9% of initially identified services excluded due to government commissioning/contracts. The majority (84%) advertised at least one equity-oriented practice, most commonly cultural safety/specific care (38%), though few explicitly intersectional (11%). Among those with a primary specialisation, support for violence and abuse was highest (12%). Services predominantly supported older children, with gaps in early intervention and prevention. The synthesis revealed trade-offs and tensions: responsiveness competes with planning, capacity-building and communications; navigation barriers alongside selective information sharing; and the ripple effects of funding precarity undermining provision and choice.

Community supports are relied on yet structurally vulnerable. As policy increasingly emphasises community partnerships, this requires sustainable funding models, collaboration guidance and resourcing to embed equity-oriented practices.

Highlights

- Young people and community stakeholders co-led analysis and interpretation

- 84% of services advertised equity-oriented provision but few intersectional

- Prioritising responsive delivery forces trade-offs against planning and promotion

- Strategic invisibility is used to protect communities and prevent misunderstanding

- Funding precarity shapes provision, access and continuity of care