Care applications reach new high

Research has shown that the number of applications to take children into care surpassed 10,000 in the 12 months to the end of March.

Last month some 886 legal proceedings were launched by English councils to take vulnerable young people away from their homes, taking the total for the past year to 10,199. It was the first time it had surpassed 10,000 in a one-year period.

According to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), the data implies that agencies are working harder to transfer children to a better and safer environment. Cafcass, which released the figures, looks after children’s interests in the family courts.

“This is the first time care demand figures have broken the 10,000 mark over a 12-month period,” said Anthony Douglas, chief executive of Cafcass.

“These consistently high figures for the year have really tested the resilience of our staff and our systems, but we have continued to be a strong organisation that serves the best interests of children.”

In the period between April 2011 and March 2012, child care applications increased 10.8% on the same period in 2010/11.

For further information contact a member of the IBB Childcare team. The team deals with exclusively with child welfare cases, and cases relating to disagreements between family members, such as where children live or when they visit other family members. It has extensive experience in representing children either directly or through a Children’s Guardian.

Contact a member of the IBB Childcare team in confidence on 01895 207857, or email us at childcare@ibblaw.co.uk