Statistical Trends for Looked After Children

There are currently over 59,000 looked after children in the UK, 42,000 of whom are in fostercare. Despite the numbers of looked after children slightly reducing over the last 6 years, the number in foster care has increased, which reflects the fact that foster care is the preferred placement for most children. What has also been noted is that although fewer children come into care, those that do, tend to stay longer. This could explain the constant shortage of foster carers in this country.

The number of children being placed in Independent Fostering Agencies has risen steadily over the last 6 years, and now accounts for 28% of all foster care placements (apart from those children placed with family and friends who have been assessed as foster carers). There are various possible reasons for this rise in the use of independent agencies. Potential foster carers have tended to move away from Local Authorities to agencies because of the better quality support and financial benefits associated with them. Placing Authorities like placing with Independent agencies because they offer good quality carers supporting social workers. There will always be a need for a "mixed economy" when it comes to foster care, with independent agencies providing more specialist placements alongside local authority foster carers.

Most Placing Authorities want to place children close to their homes, schools and social networks, and the government's 20 mile limit is the main guide on placing children, however the numbers being placed outside this 20 mile limit is actually rising rather than falling. There are various possible reasons for this. It could be that local authority fostering services remain stretched and so most local carers are full to capacity. The needs of the child may be so specialised that local carers cannot be identified and the search for suitable foster carers needs to be spread over a wider area to meet those specialist needs. Frequently the cultural or religious needs of a particular child may not be able to be met within the locality and so other areas are targeted. In some cases, it is not safe for a child to remain in their locality due to the risks the family poses and so a family away from the area is actively sought.

The good news is that looked after children are becoming a higher priority for the government who is now actively maintaining statistics and putting in strategies to improve the situation for looked after children.