Care Council publish new research exploring residential child care in Wales

Data made available to Welsh Government has been used for the first time to identify the reasons for children being in residential care in Wales.

The research and subsequent report commissioned by the Care Council for Wales and carried out by CASCADE – Cardiff University’s Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre – identifies common characteristics of children and young people placed in residential settings, which covers not only children’s homes but also placements such as residential care homes, Young Offenders Institutions, mother and baby units and more. 

The research findings are drawn from seven years’ worth of data submitted to Welsh Government by local authorities, as well as two recent major reports commissioned by the DfE (England) which guided and added context to the Welsh residential landscape.

As of 31 March, 2015, there were 5,615 Looked After Children and Young People (LACYP) in Wales, with the vast majority (4,255) placed in foster care and only 250 (4.45%) in residential care settings.

The percentage of LACYP in residential care in Wales appears to be significantly lower than in England (8%) and elsewhere in mainland Europe (27% in Sweden in 2008 and 47% in Denmark in 2007).

Report writer Martin Elliott acknowledges that many of those placed in residential care are deemed unable to live in a family setting and have more serious behavioural and emotional needs, which has in turn created “a negative public discourse around residential care, often compounded by the media, based on a common perception that it is a placement of ‘last resort’.”

Other findings from the team’s research include:

• A tendency for the terms ‘residential care’ and ‘children’s homes’ to be used interchangeably, which fails to reflect the wide range of residential settings which exist.
• For the majority of settings, boys represent the largest proportion of residents. In some residential provision types, such as youth offending institutions, boys make up almost the entire population (97.9% – 100%). 
• The residential care population in England consists predominantly of young people in their teenage years – a situation which appears to be reflected in Wales.
• The majority of children and young people placed in residential settings appear to be ‘looked after’ as a result of having been accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989.  Of those ceasing to be ‘looked after’ for the first time, who exited care from a residential setting, 70.5% were placed in care under S.20. 
• Children with the most traumatic childhood experiences and the longest care histories appear to be the most likely to make the transition from family placements to residential care (and vice versa).
• Of those children and young people who ceased to be ‘looked after’ for the first time during the research period, and whose last placement was in a residential setting, the reason for exiting care for over a third (37.6%) was that they returned home. 

Commenting on the research, the Care Council’s Roberta Hayes said: “This research was commissioned to underpin the workforce strategy being developed by Care Council in partnership with representatives from residential child care and foster care.

“The report confirms the complex needs of children in residential care and the importance of valuing and developing the practitioners and professionals who support and care for them on a daily basis.

“Care Council aims to consult on the strategy in the Autumn and work to improve recruitment and retention of this important workforce.”

Click here to read the full report