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Foster children shuttled between homes suffer

Foster children who are moved between homes and families too frequently suffer further emotional harm, a charity has claimed.

No less than a quarter of all British children in foster placements were moved at least once last year, reports Action for Children, with some being shuffled into new homes as many as six times.

The charity obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests made to all 433 local authorities in the UK.

The 143 councils who responded cited a total of 64,372 children living in foster care in their regions over the 12 months to March. Of those youngsters, 14,583 were moved twice or more, while 168 children ended up in at least seven different homes over the year.

Action for Children Chief Executive Tony Hawkshead highlighted the potential impact of this repeated disruption on “children who have faced the most traumatic experiences and find it hard to trust someone new.”

He called on more families to foster, saying this would help local authorities find the right homes for children unable to live with their parents.

A Department for Education spokeswoman insisted that the government was already coordinating with councils “to help them recruit foster carers who can meet the needs of children.”

The blog team at Stowe is a group of writers based across our family law offices who share their advice on the wellbeing and emotional aspects of divorce or separation from personal experience. As well as pieces from our family law solicitors, guest contributors also regularly contribute to share their knowledge.

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Comments(3)

  1. Andrew says:

    Charitable money had been spent on establishing that children suffer if they are shuttled between foster homes?
    Isn’t that information on the website of the Department of the Bleeding Obvious?

    • Luke says:

      I think you’re being very unfair Andrew, how are these charity directors going to justify their enormous salaries and keep their names in the papers to get the next big charity job if they can’t waste money on stuff like this ?

  2. Mrs PC says:

    My grandson went into care when he was 4. He is now 8. I was assessed. because I became a widow he is not allowed to live with his grandmother. They said because l was still grieving. I get to see him in contact 3 times a year. Breaks my heart.

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