Extra £1m spent on children in off-island placements last year

Friday 21 July 2023

Specialist care providers putting up their prices and a need for more intensive support contributed to an extra £1m being spent on placing vulnerable local children into homes outside the island last year – despite little increase in the number of children being sent away.

A response to a request made under the Freedom of Information revealed that, in 2022, there were 20 children in placements off-island – a figure that has changed little over the past three years.

The number of placements last year was only one fewer than the year before, but two more than in 2020.

Despite the similar amount of children being cared for off-island across all three years, the FOI request response showed that almost £3.6m was spent on these placements in 2022, compared to around £2.5m in both 2020 and 2021.

Assistant Minister for Children and Education, Constable Richard Vibert put the extra £1m expenditure down to "a number of specialist providers increasing their costs", as well the need for additional specialist support or placements which are more expensive.

The figures come as the Government is ramping up efforts to recruit islanders to make intensive foster caring their career.

Pictured: The data shows that the number of children in off-island placements remained very similar in the past three years, but the cost increased by over £1m in 2022.

Constable Vibert explained: “Children and families are placed off-island to receive specialist care and support in line with their assessed needs.

"The costs for off-island placements increased between 2021 and 2022 due in part to a number of specialist providers increasing their costs.

"Costs also increased as some children and families required additional specialist support, or more specialist and – therefore – costly placements.”

Pictured: Assistant Minister for Children and Education, Constable Richard Vibert said that costs increased "due in part to a number of specialist providers increasing their costs".

This year to date, there have been 17 children being looked after in the UK with £1.5m already spent by May this year.

This was despite Children's Minister Inna Gardiner launching an urgent appeal for intensive foster carers last year, stating that Jersey had "not seen a crisis like this in fostering and adoption for 10 years". Just four people came forward as a result.

Efforts to reduce the number of children being placed off-island stretch as far back as 2018, when an inspection of Children's Services by Ofsted found that, despite it being a "last resort" option, as many as a quarter of children in care had to be split from their families and friends and sent away from Jersey because there weren’t enough appropriate placements in Jersey.

Pictured: A 2018 report found that as many as a quarter of children in care had to be sent off-island to receive appropriate care.

This, they found, was mainly due to a lack of appropriate facilities locally and fostering placements - despite numerous campaigns by the Fostering and Adoption team.

Concerns over the lack of appropriate care facilities have also been raised numerous times by Jersey's Royal Court, which has to approve such placements.

In 2019, the Government created a new 'intensive fostering' service in an attempt to avoid having to send the island’s “more challenging children and young people” to care institutions off-island.

This month, the Government launched a fresh campaign for full-time intensive foster carers, offering a salary of over £56,000 a year for those willing to take on the role.

Pictured: Last year, Children’s and Education Minister Inna Gardiner described a "crisis" in foster care.

Assistant Children’s and Education Minister Richard Vibert said: "Thank you to all the intensive foster carers who came forward last year. You are already making a huge difference to the lives of our children and young people.

"Intensive fostering is a significant commitment but one which is incredibly rewarding for both the carer and the child. Children and young people will form long-lasting and trusting relationships with their carers and feel safe, secure and able to build and maintain friendships.

"This will improve their self-esteem and provide them with the strong foundations they need to make a success of their future."

The Acting Children's Commissioner also recently called on Government for more "robust safeguards and legal protections in place for children who are placed off the island".

"It's not just like moving down the road; it's a different country. Children are on their own there. They should be afforded all those protections to ensure their rights are upheld."

She explained: "In the UK, distance placements don't lead to good outcomes for children. What will that say for Jersey children? How will we make sure they can see their families? How can we make sure their care plan will be continually reviewed, because situations can change? It's all about putting those policies in place and ensuring good practice."

Ms Le Saint also said that she would like to ensure that "what we provide in the island is suitable as well" and would support the Government in any further campaigns to recruit foster carers.

FIND OUT MORE...

The new campaign for intensive foster carers involves social media and digital advertising as well as face-to-face sessions, at which anyone interested in becoming an intensive foster carer can hear from an experienced fostering team. 

The next session is taking place on Monday 24 July 18:00, virtual event. Sign-up via Eventbrite.