A report by the charity, titled Achieving Emotional Wellbeing for Looked-After Children, found that a quarter of councils had made either "very little" or "no mention" of looked-after children’s mental health in their published strategies.
This is despite around half of children in care in England and Wales having a diagnosable mental health disorder – four times higher than the general child population.
The study found that:
The study was based on interviews with 178 people, including children in care, care leavers, residential care workers, children's social workers, independent reviewing officers and child and adolescent mental health services workers.
The NSPCC has made five recommendations for improvement including a call for local authorities to place emphasis on emotional wellbeing throughout the system, take a "proactive and preventative approach" to mental health, give children and young people voice and influence, support and sustain children’s relationships, and support care leavers’ emotional needs.
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