Shepherd, Elizabeth; Sexton, Anna; Lomas, Elizabeth; Williams, Peter; (2023) Archives de l’enfance : le projet MIRRA (Mémoire-Identité-Droit aux archi­ves-Accès) [Archives of Childhood: Memory-Identity-Rights in Records-Access (MIRRA) project]. La Gazette des Archives , 2022-2 (266)

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Abstract

UK government figures show that on 31 March 2021, 80,850 children and young people were living in out-of-home care in England. Looked after children’s lives are documented by social workers, foster carers and others, recorded in ‘care files’. Writing from a care leaver’s perspective, the UK Access to Care Records Campaign Group expresses both the importance and the inadequacies of current recordkeeping practices in social care. The Group states, ‘Knowing where we have come from and what has happened in our past is an important part of making sense of ourselves and our lives. For many people who have been in care, however, the collective family memory of events is often not available and there can be gaps in information or confusion about what actually happened’. Children and young people in care often lack family narratives, especially where their experience has been complex, disrupted or traumatic. The UK independent review of children's social care, The Case for Change, found that care experience carries stigma and can weaken identity and that ‘Accessing care files … can play a role in the lifelong memory and identity needs of care-experienced people’. Literature in the fields of social work and archival studies suggests that what is written about children and young people in child social care records has significant impacts on lifelong wellbeing, belonging and sense of self, but they may not be able to answer even basic questions, such as ‘why was I in care?’. Fivush et al suggest this ‘discoherence’ can lead to feelings of anger, frustration and guilt, whereas proactive reminiscence and collaborative memory curation, such as life story work, may enhance self-worth and lifelong positive outcomes. A group of researchers at UCL have been investigating these issues in a UK context, and the experience of care leavers seeking their records is also being explored in many countries, including in Australia and Canada.

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