Placement stability

Like houses on sand

Strict laws make sure that children in care will be well fed, clothed and warm - they are very likely to be materially better off than before they went into care. But there the certainties end. All sorts of factors can make the foundations in a child's life shift about like a house on sand. 

This might mean that:

• they may change foster carer or care home frequently, particularly if they have complex emotional and psychological needs that are not being addressed
• if they have to move care placement, they may also move school and have to start all over again somewhere else
• younger children especially may lose contact with their siblings who have been placed far away
• they might return to the family home, find things are no better, and be sent back into care once more
• 66% of children who do return home find that the family has new members, or that others have left.

It's often said that for the adult population, getting divorced or moving house are among the most stressful things you can do.  Children in care are effectively doing both at the same time: leaving behind the family they know and being moved to a strange place. Some will live through this not just once, but many, many times. 

Just as a house built on sand develop cracks in the walls, so children who don't get a steady placement suffer mentally and struggle to live up to their potential. These pages look at some of the problems in more detail - and some of the initiatives that are trying to bring greater stability.