CYP Now - More voluntary sector children’s homes key to solving sufficiency crisis, says ADCS

The government should focus on increasing the number of children’s homes run by voluntary organisations rather than creating regional care cooperatives (RCCs) to solve an ongoing sufficiency crisis, children’s services leaders say.

The government should encourage voluntary organisations to open children's homes, leaders say. Picture: Martinan/Adobe Stock

In a new paper, published following the government’s response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) says that “there is a clear role for national government in helping to stimulate and encourage the voluntary sector into the market”.

It quotes figures from the Local Government Association (LGA) and Department for Education which find that in 2021, voluntary agencies owned four per cent of children’s homes compared with 17 per cent in 2016.

“The reasons behind withdrawal from the market need to be fully understood,” states the report.

It adds that to increase sufficiency and reduce profit-making in the children’s residential care sector, “national government should stimulate and encourage the voluntary sector back into the children’s home market, for example through providing upfront capital costs and encouraging innovation in this space”.

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