BIG INTERVIEW: A place for those in care - Susanna Cheal, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust

"We need to keep underlining that 98 per cent end up in care because of family breakdown and not because of a crime they committed."

Cheal's experience of psychotherapy for young people with mental health problems and disabilities led her to conclude that the media's depiction of young people in care has been stereotypical in the past. Breaking the perception that most young people in care are young offenders is one of her biggest challenges.

Young people in care are often moved from one care home to another - one in seven moved three times in 2001/2002 alone. This results in a range of issues experienced by many young people in care: educational problems, poor support networks, isolation and estrangement, and difficulties in making and maintaining friendships.