As the evidence that the care system is failing young people continues to grow, it seems it will now have to meet the needs of a new influx of at-risk children.

We learnt last week from Cafacass that between November 2008 and the end of March this year 2,775 care applications were lodged, compared with 1,974 over the same period in 2007-08. The so-called ‘Baby P effect’ means that a greater number of at-risk children are being taken into care more rapidly. This is a marked departure with recent years, where there was a stronger emphasis on sustaining fragile families to keep children with their biological parents for as long as possible. Martin Narey, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s (our partners on the new Demos project In Loco Parentis) has maintained an informed critique of this approach for some time now:

"These figures may be an overreaction to the Baby P case but, long before that tragedy was revealed, ­Barnardo's was highlighting the need to consider care as the best option for more children. So while we expect the figures to fall back we shall be troubled if they return to pre-Baby P levels.”[1]

So will the care system be in a position to accommodate and support these vulnerable children? Worryingly, it is looking ever less well equipped to do so. On Monday the Fostering Network announced that two-thirds of foster carers are aged 50-plus and may choose to retire in the next 10 to 15 years. So, alongside a concerted effort to recruit and retain skilled foster workers this means that residential care, often seen as a ‘last resort’ for looked-after children, will also need to be re-considered.

As a new Channel Four series, ‘Forgotten Children’ shines the spotlight even more sharply on the care system, it seems that the public appetite for improvements has never been greater. Momentum is building, and politicians of all parties would do well to take note.

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