Growing numbers of children in care are being moved to children’s homes and foster carers far from family, friends, school and community, due to a shortage of suitable homes locally, new research shows.
There are almost 18,000 children in care in England living more than 20 miles from home, representing 1 in 5 children in care, according to new research from the charity Become. The number has increased by more than 3,000 since 2018.
Children living more than 20 miles from home have ‘significantly lower wellbeing’ than those who are placed closer to home, the charity says.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO of Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, says: ‘We hear time and again from children in care the devastating impact of being made to move to an area of the country they don’t know. This often happens without warning and sometimes multiple times a year.
‘This means moving away from friends, brothers and sisters, school and college – and being left lonely and isolated, at greater risk of exploitation with real consequences for their lives and futures.
‘It is unacceptable that with each year that passes, the situation is getting worse with more and more being sent away from the people and places that matter to them. This new data shows just how urgently the new Government must act.’
