However, this has cast residential care as the choice of last resort, tobe considered only when all other options are exhausted. Relationshipsbetween local authorities and providers are often characterised bydistress purchases made after repeated placement breakdowns.
Unsurprisingly, the sector has become dogged by poor expectations andcorrespondingly poor outcomes.
But there are signs that this may be about to change. One of these isthe Government's announcement of 731,000 of funding for anational centre of excellence for children's residential care in England(see Analysis, p11). The announcement has raised hopes within the sectorthat it may signal the start of a change in attitude towards children'shomes, and a recognition of residential care as a positive choice,especially for children or young people whose past experience has madethem wary or even hostile to the idea of family life.
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