Soaring numbers of children taken into care in Bradford (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Soaring numbers of children taken into care in Bradford

9:20am Friday 10th February 2012 in Bradford By Kathie Griffiths

A report has highlighted the soaring number of children being taken into care, a situation exclusively highlighted by Telegraph & Argus last month.

Bradford Council confirmed then that a record number of youngsters are in care in the district.

Now it has emerged that out of those 918 cases, 148 of them are on-going proceedings involve CAFCASS – The Children and Family Court Advisory Service, according to its latest figures released yesterday.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the Council's executive member for children and young people's services, said, compared to some authorities, the rate of growth of children in care in the district is “relatively modest”.

“But there is still no cause for complacency and we are burning the midnight oil to make sure those children are placed in the most suitable environments as quickly as possible,” he said.

Yesterday’s CAFCASS report shows that January saw an all-time high of applications in England to take children into care made.

The organisation said local authorities made 903 applications to protect youngsters from abuse or neglect, the highest number on record in a single month. Last January the number was 698.

Record number of applications have been noted each month since last May by the support service which was set up in 2001 to look after the interests of children involved in court family proceedings.

It says the jump in care applications has been seen since the furore sparked in November, 2008, by the trial over the death of Baby P – a London boy who died after suffering 50 injuries over eight months after repeatedly being seen by Haringey Children's Services and NHS health professionals.

Last month the T&A reported the number of children currently in care in Bradford had soared as a result of domestic violence and family break-ups brought on by the recession, according to Coun Berry.

Seven months ago there were 890 looked-after youngsters in Bradford Council’s care compared to the current figure of 918. It costs the Council up to £40,000 for each child’s care which does not include legal proceedings.

Coun Berry said it should not presumed the increase was a bad thing because it meant firmer and clearer steps were being taken.

He also appealed for more people interested in fostering and adopting to come forward, especially for “looked-after children” aged ten and over.