Councils should lead delivery of reshaped care system

Tens of thousands of young people could live safely with their families and communities rather than in the care of local authorities if councils lead the charge on delivering a reshaped care system over the coming years.

According to a new report by the County Councils Network, Newton and the Association of County Chief Executives, under current trends the number of children in care could rise to 95,000 by the end of 2025 with county leaders warning that the ‘status quo is no longer an option’.

With councils under significant pressure in delivering children’s social care, as many as 39 per cent of children could have avoided coming into care had the system worked differently and there was more support in place for families on the verge of crisis.

The report proposes a reshaped, family-focused way of delivering support, which aims to both reduce the number of children being placed in care and increase the number of children safely returning to their families and communities from care. But to enable this, the report outlines that sustainable local and national funding is vital to allow investment in services. Based on case reviews with practitioners, the report finds that for up to 34 per cent of children in care, opportunities to support a return to family or community are not being properly explored.

If the blueprint, called an ‘optimised delivery model’, is adopted across England by 2025, it could result in up to 31,000 young people living safely with their families and communities rather than in the care of local authorities, up to 4,400 fewer young people housed inappropriately in residential care.

The organisations say that, without changes to the system, projected expenditure on children in care is set to be £2.1 billion higher in 2025 compared to 2020. Analysis conducted in the report shows that delivering the model could mitigate up to 95 per cent of that forecast growth in spend over coming years. This is as a result of fewer children being in care, more children in care living in family settings, such as fostering, and less reliance on expensive residential care.

Keith Glazier, Children’s Services Spokesperson for the CCN, said: “Councils can be proud of the support they give to thousands of young people, however we need to do more to maximise the opportunity for young people to be supported to live with their families or in their communities. With a deeper understanding of the long-term impact of children being separated from their families, it is clear that the status quo no longer an option.

“This report shows the art of the possible from both ends of the care system. It places councils at the centre of delivering a renewed system where the focus is on supporting children and families, enabling them to stay together, as well as maximising the possibility of children returning to their families where it is safe to do so.
Of course, many young people will sadly still require local authority care, but under this new model thousands would not reach that point.

“The report throws down the gauntlet for local authorities to work more effectively, but it also shows how the rest of the public sector can be more joined up in supporting families on the verge of crisis, and in delivering meaningful support to reduce the need for lengthy periods in care: improving outcomes for children. However, this cannot be done on a shoestring and we urge for a substantial injection of funding from government this year so we can begin to transform services.”