Health encyclopaedia

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

Children in care

Around 60,000 children are being looked after in care, in the UK [1]. Children are placed in short or long term care for a number of reasons including: abuse or neglect, family problems, placement under care orders, providing respite for family carers, and children awaiting adoption.

National policies, legislation and guidelines relating to children in care are issued by central government. The government also coordinates programmes such as Caring For Carers, Keeping Children Safe and Every Child Matters.

Responsibility for community care and children’s health services falls to the Department of Health, although since June 2003 other children’s services policies were moved to the Department of Education and Skills.

On a practical level, local authorities implement care. This includes local government fostering schemes and foster homes, social services, and benefit payments, as well as carrying out checks on the suitability of prospective foster or adoptive parents.

There are also independent organisations such as fostering agencies. These tend to deal with children that local authorities are unable to place, such as children with behavioural problems, disabled children, or older children.

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