Looked-after children in Scotland are set to benefit from a 7m windfall from the Scottish Executive.
The extra funding was announced by deputy education minister RobertBrown at a conference on children in care this week.
Foster carers and kinship carers will be able to apply for 2m tohelp buy essentials like bunk beds, a washing machine or additionalbedroom furniture.
The remaining 5m will be allocated to residential units andschools across the country to improve the decor and provide facilitiesthat encourage learning.
Bryan Ritchie, director of the Fostering Network Scotland, described themove as a "first step" but said foster care was "rising up the ScottishExecutive's agenda."
