Media portrayal of out-of-area care placements ‘unhelpful'
Derren Hayes
Thursday, January 9, 2014
There is an "unhelpful" misperception among the media and public about the nature of out-of-authority placements for looked-after children, council care managers have said.
Interviews with care managers from 15 local authorities carried out by the Thomas Coram Research Unit (TCRU) at the Institute of Education found that many used out-of-authority placements as an extra level of protection for vulnerable looked-after children.
Its use as an additional safeguarding measure is at odds with the practice being widely portrayed as putting children at risk, the researchers said.
The study states: “Respondents highlighted there is a public and media misperception that if a child or young person is in an out-of-authority placement they are 200 miles from home, while in practice they may still be geographically very close.”
One manager interviewed for the study said this portrayal out-of-authority care was "not very helpful" as "it tends to be inferred that they’re many miles away from home when often that is not the case”.
The study, which looked at how councils use out-of-authority care, also found that most only place looked-after children outside of their area when they think a child’s needs can be better met by a provider further away.
Children who can benefit from being placed in children’s homes further away include those with mental health issues, complex disabilities or who display risky behaviour.
Care managers interviewed for the study also said out-of-authority placements were useful for creating “geographical distance” for some young people from their local area and peer group in an attempt to address offending behaviour, gang involvement and sexual exploitation risks.
Charlie Owen, a researcher at the TCRU, said: “A number of reports have expressed concern over the vulnerability of teenage girls being placed in children’s homes a long way from their communities. We found that local authorities accounted for out-of-area placements in terms of either meeting specialist needs or to move children from their local area to break the cycle of risky behaviour.”
The study called for better mapping of specialist provision that can meet the complex needs of children to help local authorities identify gaps in their region, as well as more research into the most effective interventions for risky behaviour.
