Wakefield Councillors have agreed to open two new children’s homes amidst reports the number of kids in care across the district increased by 7%.
The West Yorkshire local authority have plans to lease two properties that will provide short-term emergency accommodation for six children that are facing going into the care system.
What’s more, the plans, which were unveiled and agreed upon at a meeting yesterday – Tuesday 10th December – also include recruiting and training more staff to run the new premises.
The news comes following a report from the council which outlined there was a ‘national crisis’ in respect of sufficient placements for children as the number of kids in care across the district had risen by 7%, from 639 in March 2023 to 684 in March 2024.
The council report detailed: ‘The number of fostering households nationally has not kept pace with this increase. This means that other forms of placement provision are becoming increasingly important in meeting the needs of children in care.’
On a wider scale, according to sperate research, the number of children in care nationally rose to 83,840 in March 2023 in contrast to 82,170 in March 2022. However, it was found that Wakefield still holds the title for having one of the lowest levels of children in care compared to local authorities of a similar size.
Margaret Isherwood, cabinet member for children and young people at Wakefield Council, added: ‘We, as a council, have a statutory responsibility to provide accommodation of the right kind for our children in care.
‘Nationally and locally there are massive challenges over provision of placements. We have to look to address some of these challenges by introducing our own way of doing things.’
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