Children moved far from home in private outsourced placements fare worse

Published by PSW Magazine, 9 June 2023

Research conducted by Oxford University has found outsourcing children's social care to the private sector means children are more likely to end up far from home in unstable short-term placements.

The research led by Dr Anders Bach-Mortensen and Benjamin Goodair of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, examined 600,000 care records and found that for-profit outsourcing is "consistently associated" with breakdown in placements and children being placed outside their local authority.

An estimated 17,000 out-of-area placements may be linked to the general increase in for-profit provision between 2011 and 2022, researchers claim.

According to the report, 38 per cent of all children in care are placed with for-profit providers, including children's homes, fostering agencies, or other care providers.

This represents an increase of nine percentage points since 2011.

Examining placement outcomes, the report found that "increases in for-profit outsourcing are associated with worse placement outcomes on average," with private providers showing higher rates of placement breakdown within two years.

For-profit outsourcing of care is linked with "more unstable, short-term placements," the authors note.
 
The number of children ending up in placements far from home has been "steadily increasing over the past decade".

The study findings match recent estimates that more than 40 per cent of children in care are placed outside the local authority responsible for their care. A parliamentary research briefing states: "The number of looked after children placed outside their home local authority increased by around 28 per cent between 2010 and 2020, rising from 37 per cent of all placements to 41 per cent over the period."

More than 80 per cent of children's care homes in England are run to make a profit, and private providers often build facilities in the north, where property is cheaper.

Children's charity Become has warned of cases where children are placed 500 miles away and says children moved away from home are more likely to experience emotional difficulties. Nearly 65 per cent of all children placed in private provision were placed outside their local authority area in 2022, the charity found.

The Oxford University study also flags up concerns by the Children's Commissioner that out-of-area placements make children "more vulnerable to exploitation and grooming".

The report, published in the international journal Child Abuse and Neglect, concludes: “Despite the numerous independent reviews and investigations, a significant proportion of children are still being placed in unstable or out-of-area care, exposing already vulnerable children to additional risks. Outsourcing and private sector involvement continue to be highlighted as promising avenues for LAs to achieve better outcomes for children.

“Our analysis shows that for-profit outsourcing is consistently associated with worse placement outcomes among local authorities. This suggests that increasing the already significant proportion of for-profit children's social placements may not be the most effective strategy to improve outcomes in the children's social care sector.”