Too many children in care housed miles away from home, charity warns
Almost two thousand children in care in the West Midlands are housed more than 20 miles away from their home
A national charity are calling on the Government to stop placing children in care miles away from their local community.
New data has revealed that children in care in England are, on average, placed more than 18 miles from home, the Become organisation said, as it warned that in extreme cases some have been moved 500 miles away.
The charity found that in the West Midlands, 17% of children in care were housed more than 20 miles away, with Shropshire having the highest number in the region at 29%.
They found that children who are moved more than 20 miles from home are more likely to have lower wellbeing and experience emotional difficulties than children who are placed closer to home.
The organisation said it recognises that for some children it is right for them to be moved away to a different area to ensure their safety, protect them from exploitation, or to move them closer to other family members.
But the charity warned that a lack of suitable places in their local area means more and more children are being moved far away when it is not in their best interests.
It is calling on the Government and local authorities to commit to stop children being placed miles from home and to publish strategies to increase the supply of appropriate local options.
The charity's findings came from Freedom of Information requests to the Department for Education (DfE) and to 151 local authorities in England between October 2022 and February this year.
A total of 138 local authorities (91%) responded but the charity said many were unable to provide full responses to the information request, and some local authorities were not able to provide any information.
The charity said it also analysed DfE figures which showed that last year at least 21% of all children in care in England were placed more than 20 miles from home - up from 16% in 2012.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, said: "We hear time and again from the young people we work with that they've been made to move - often without warning - to an area they don't know, far away from everything that matters to them.
"Being moved can disrupt a child's education, life outcomes, and relationships - including with brothers and sisters who might live miles away.
"Poor transport links can make it difficult or even impossible for a young person to get to school or college, see their friends or stay connected to their community. Young people tell us how lonely, isolated, and stigmatised it makes them feel.
"It's unacceptable that children are being moved away, not because it's the right decision for them, but because there are no suitable options closer. It cannot continue.
"There are 82,000 children in care, more than ever before, with numbers continuing to rise. Without urgent action this problem will continue to get worse. We need a national commitment and strategy to keep children close to the people and places that matter to them. All children in care deserve the love and stability they need to heal and thrive."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Every child deserves to live in a safe and stable home and local authorities have a responsibility to place children in an environment that is in their best interests, usually within 20 miles of their home.
"We are investing £259 million to create more placements for children in high-quality and safe homes, while developing a new model for care placements to keep more children close to home networks."