Why the number of children in care in England is set to rise

The number of children

The number of children in care in England in on track to hit
almost 100,000 by 2025 – an increase of more than a third within
just one decade.

New research from the County Councils
Network^[1] (CCN) shows that based
on the average increase rates for the past four years, the
total will reach 95,000 by the middle of the decade, up from 69,000
in 2015.

“The reality is that there are too many
vulnerable children being placed in expensive residential care
settings and staying in the care system for longer,” CCN chair Tim
Oliver was expected to tell his organisation’s annual conference
today in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

According to Oliver, austerity cuts to council budgets have
created a “vicious cycle”, with local authorities forced to “reduce
preventative services to focus on intervention in crisis
situations, alongside facing a lack of alternative solutions, such
as foster care”.

CCN lead for children Keith Glazier, also the Conservative
leader of East Sussex County Council, told the BBC^[2]
that local authorities “aren’t having the ability to go out and do
more early intervention with families, to try and keep families
together, rather than having to take children into care”.

The new research suggests that unless the crisis is tackled
through major reforms and investment, local authorities in England
will spend £3.6bn a year more keeping children in care in 2025
compared with 2015.

CCN boss Oliver warned that “with the situation becoming
unsustainable”, a boost to funding “and an unrelenting focus on
preventing family breakdown” were urgently needed, along with
“systemic reform of how councils work with their public sector
partners to achieve these aims”.

An independent review^[3] earlier this year
of council-run children’s social care in England also highlighted
the “urgent need” for a new approach. The Case for Change report
described the current system as a “tower of Jenga held together
with Sellotape” and said that state intervention was too often
focused “on assessment and investigation” rather than support.

The ongoing review is being conducted for the government by Josh
MacAlister, a former teacher and charity boss. A government
spokesperson told the BBC that £4.8bn in funding was being provided
to councils to help maintain “vital front-line services”, including
children’s care.