The Bill seeks to reduce the number of looked-after children who are placed a long way from home. This is because the government believes being a long way from home can make it hard to maintain links with family, friends, hobbies and education. The government argues this can lead to placement disruption and poorer outcomes.
But Jonathan Stanley, manager of the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care, told CYP Now: "It isn't distance which makes that harder, it's just practice that gets in the way."
"I've worked with children all over the country who have kept up monthly contact wherever they've been," he said. "Although current practice can create that disjuncture, it doesn't mean it has to be that way."
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