A recently published research paper by Ofsted has highlighted the ongoing difficulty for many local authorities in finding suitable accommodation for children and young people who have been identified as having ‘complex needs’ who cannot remain at home or in an alternative family environment such as foster care. Here, Charlotte Francis looks at what Ofsted found and how the local authority has responded.
The term ‘complex needs’ is used to describe children who have multiple needs of different types, needing care and support from an array of professionals. These are typically children with severe mental health difficulties, or whose needs manifest in behaviours that place the child or others at risk.
The ideal homes for these children are therapeutic and secure homes and unfortunately there is a severe lack of these homes available and often local authorities are competing with each other for the few available places.
What Ofsted Found
In response to the survey by Ofsted, the vast majority of local authorities that responded (91%) said they frequently have difficulty in finding suitable homes for children with complex needs and as a result, children wait months – or in the worst cases, years for a stable home.
The lack of placements available drives up cost with no guarantee as to the quality of the service offered to these children.
Ofsted also found that the lack of suitable homes means local authorities are resorting to placements they do not want to use and that are not suitable.
Some Local authority commissioning staff, think that some of the homes could accept the child they have referred, but choose not to, opting to wait for a child they perceive as presenting fewer risks and having less need.
As many solicitors working in the field of children’s social care know, an unsuitable placement can often break down sometimes following repeated episodes of the child going missing from the placement putting themselves at serious risk.
The Local Authority Response
The president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has acknowledged the growing challenges faced by local authorities and whilst the intention is for children to stay as close to the people and communities they know, this is proving increasingly difficult.
He has called for a comprehensive national placements strategy as a matter of urgency to ensure the right homes are available in the right places for all children who need them whatever their needs.
He is also calling for a comprehensive review of the regulatory system and care standards, with a view to achieving a more fluid system that better meets the needs of children.
No Easy Fix
Ofsted set out a number of policies concerning both the availability and quality of placements for these children. Unfortunately, there is an urgent need to address the supply and demand issues for these types of placements and even where local authorities work in partnership with each other, a national approach to providing these placements may be the only way forward which isn’t an easy task.
