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Too many children in care are let down, says new report
8 December 2011
Less than 1% of children in England are in care, but up to half the children held in young offender institutions have been in care at some point, according to the report, ‘Care – A Stepping Stone to Custody?’.
The report, produced by the Prison Reform Trust and National Children's Bureau (NCB), said it was the care system, rather than the justice system, which could help reduce offending by looked-after children.
The report called for local authorities to treat children in care who get into trouble ‘as any other parent would’, and to keep in contact with those who end up in custody through regular visits, putting plans for their release in place at the earliest opportunity.
Children should also be allowed to stay in placements where they are happy, should be involved in the decisions that affect their lives, and protected from regular changes in social work staff. Every child in care should have one consistent adult in their life who will respect and support them, it said.
Lord Laming, who wrote the foreword to the report, added: ‘It is a huge step for the state to assume the parenting of a child or young person. With that comes the responsibility to provide stability, security and hope for the future’.
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