Almost 200 children in care in North Yorkshire sent over 20 miles from home
The Government's being called on to keep those in need of care in their local communities
192 children in North Yorkshire have been sent over 20 miles from home to access care, new figures show from the Charity Become.
The organisation's warning that young people who are placed further away from home are more at risk of developing emotional difficulties.
It's called on the Government to do more to keep kids in their local communities.
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.
'It's always a last resort'
Mel Hutchinson is the Assistant director of children and families at North Yorkshire County Council: "Our practice model in North Yorkshire is all about keeping children in North Yorkshire, near to us and close to us, and close to their families, that is so important. When you break connections for children, they are going to struggle even more, and we don't want that. We want them to feel connected, supported and linked to their family."
She says placing children far away from their communities is always a last resort, but they need more foster families to come forward: "We've seen a decline since the pandemic, and that's a national problem, and in North Yorkshire we've looked at how we can recruit more carers and how we can support more carers."
'More children in care in England than ever before'
Katharine Sacks-Jones added: "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."
The Local Government Association said: "We know that too many children are placed further from home than we would like, a result of what the Competition and Markets Authority described as 'dysfunctional children's social care market'.
"As the CMA recognised, councils cannot fix the market alone. The Government has committed to trialling two Regional Care Cooperatives to try to improve the availability of local placements, along with support for all councils with commissioning.
"However this will take time to see results, and better commissioning will not address a fundamental lack of suitable homes. Councils need support to increase sufficiency of placements quickly, with capital and revenue funding and support to roll-out those things that we already know work when it comes to recruiting and retaining foster carers."
A DfE 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."