Research links increase in outsourcing residential child care to placement instability
Megan Warren-Lister
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
The outsourcing of residential child care has contributed to an increase in children being placed further away from home in a series of short-term placements, according to new research by Oxford University.
Researchers found links between increased outsourcing of residential care placements by local authorities in England and worse outcomes for children in care in terms of placement stability and distance from home.
The findings come from a review of placement stability and locality for children in care in England between 2011 and 2022.
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On average, levels of for-profit outsourcing were found to have risen steadily over the same period.
Plymouth Council placed just 23 per cent of children in their care with for-profit companies in 2011, rising to 49 per cent in 2022 – the biggest increase identified by researchers.
The increase has coincided with a rise in the proportion of children placed out of area across all local authorities, according to the report.
It highlights that a “striking” 43 per cent of all children in care were placed out of area in 2022 compared with 39 per cent in 2011.
Meanwhile, the stability of placements for children who have been looked after for at least two-and a-half-years has dropped. In 2018, 73 per cent of these children were in the same placement for two years compared with 70 per cent in 2022.
Despite local variation, researchers found that authorities with more reliance on outsourcing had the highest rates of placement disruption.
The report warns that the increase in out-of-area placements could “expose already vulnerable children to additional risks such as exploitation and grooming”, while also negatively impacting the ability of social workers to monitor children’s well-being.
The paper adds that disruptions to placement locality and permanence will “negatively influence” the ability of children to transition back into their home community with the necessary skills and support.
The research is the first to link the role of outsourcing to impacts on placement locality and stability among children in care.
“Increasing the already significant proportion of for-profit children’s social placements may not be the most effective strategy to improve outcomes in the children’s social care sector,” the report states.
Responding to the report on Twitter, Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of care charity Become, said: “[The] study highlights the growing number of children in care being placed far away from their local area, moving them away from schools, friends and family, including brothers and sisters, and leaving them feeling lonely and isolated. This needs to stop.”
