The call to keep families together

However, with numbers of children in care reaching a record 80,000 last year there is now a broad recognition among councils and the wider sector that the system has strayed away from one of the key principles of the act - that children should, wherever possible, be brought up in their families and communities. In November the County Councils Network (CCN) published some research which projected that on present trends this number could rise as high as 95,000 by 2025 if nothing is done.

This is counter-productive. Councils’ spending on children in care has risen from less than 40 per cent of children’s services budgets a decade ago to nearly 50 per cent now. This is forcing many local authorities into the invidious position of having to cut the early intervention and edge of care work that we know can make such a difference to families, in order to meet the accelerating costs of keeping children in care placements. Funding is focused on those in acute crises, rather than working to prevent them coming into care in the first place or supporting them to return safely to their families.