Number of children in Blackpool going into care is slowing down

A five-year strategy to transform children’s social care in Blackpool could reduce the annual cost of the service from £48m to £33m and bring the number of children living in care down to around 400.
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The figures were revealed to councillors as part of a progress report on the strategy which was launched last year.

Recent initiatives include a £1.6m investment in foster care and the launch of the Fostering in Blackpool Rocks campaign last month.

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The aim is to recruit more foster parents from the town to reduce reliance on expensive, out of town placements.

Blackpool has relaunched its fostering campaignBlackpool has relaunched its fostering campaign
Blackpool has relaunched its fostering campaign

A therapeutic children’s home opened in November which will accommodate up to 12 children for 16 weeks before they are stepped down into foster care.

Around 80 per cent of the children’s services budget is spent on children in care, with numbers reaching 540 in recent times. Around 55 per cent of the budget goes on residential placement costs.

Residential care for the most complex cases can cost up to £7,000 per week.

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Edge of Care services, aimed at working with families to prevent children going into care, have also been expanded.

A report to a meeting of the council’s children and young people’s scrutiny committee says: “While it is too early to arrive at a clear estimation of the effectiveness of the services, initial indications are positive.

“In a wider context, the number of children entering care in Blackpool has slowed significantly.

“The number of children entering public care over the past six months is lower than at any point in the past six years, with entry rates for those aged five years or older lower than at any point in the past decade.”

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The report adds: “Modelling suggested that investment will be repaid in both improved outcomes for children, young people and their families and in reduced costs to the council.”

Projections show spending on children’s social care could be reduced from the current £48.6m to £33.7m by successfully introducing the strategy.

But without making changes, figures show costs could spiral to £59m in five years time, and there could be more than 830 children in care.

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