The sinking feeling is familiar now, says Anna*. It’s Friday, the clock is ticking, and there is a vulnerable child in her care for whom – despite hitting the phones for days – she cannot find a place.
Before you get all dewy eyed at the thought of a poor waif in dire need let me just remind you who the system classes as ‘vulnerable’, Reader.
The children being put in these homes are some of the most at-risk children in England. They are more likely to be involved with gangs, county lines, serious violence, exploitation, or have experienced severe mental health crises, according to the report by policy analysts Public First, for the charity Commonweal Housing.
Hardened street thugs and dangerous nutters - this is why they can’t find placements easily!
The number of looked-after children has risen by nearly 20% over the past decade, with about 83,600 children now looked after by the state. There are now 14,840 more children in care than there were in 2014, but 2,165 fewer fostering households, according to the Institute for Government.
But as this is the ‘Guardian’, the fault must lie with capitalism.
Some experts blamed the shortage of available places for children with complex needs – in foster homes and residential homes – on the dominance of the private sector in child social care.
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Government minister Josh MacAlister, who led an independent review of child social care and is now in charge of overhauling the system, has vowed to crack down on profiteering. The government insists the children’s wellbeing and schools bill will give Ofsted stronger powers to stop unregulated providers, while a £88m recruitment drive aims to generate 10,000 new foster places.
Good luck with that, when they realise they will need to be one part zookeeper, one part prison guard, and two parts Nurse Ratched!
