AN ‘extremely concerning’ £30m is being spent each year on placements for children in care - prompting council bosses to put forward a new scheme which would provide support to those who are currently at risk.
At Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, ruling members will be asked to approve the creation of the service - including a temporary one-off investment of up to £1.16m over the next 18 months to embed and evaluate the service.
The proposals follow an increasing demand for children’s care placements.
A report has revealed that the council spent a total of £30.578m on placements for a total of 416 children.
This is compared to £17.966m in 2022 for 348 placements.
It means that although there has only been a 20 per cent increase in the number of children in care, there has been a 71 per cent increase on the cost of placements.
A report states: “This position is not confined to our locality alone but mirrors a nationwide predicament, as substantiated by extensive national research illustrating the significant pressures councils are grappling with in children services.
“However, it is crucial to emphasise that the impact locally cannot be overstated.
“The council has been compelled to make substantial investments to address the escalating demands and improvement service practice significantly.
“For Barnsley, this has surpassed the initially allocated resources designated for ongoing development investment.
“To provide context, in the last two years, we have experienced a 20 per cent increase in demand for children’s social care placements in the borough.
“What is also extremely concerning is the disproportionate increase in placement costs over that same period.”
The number of children entering care in Barnsley has increased year-on-year since 2018/19 when 108 children entered.
Last year’s figure was a staggering 206.
The aim of this service will focus upon supporting teenagers experiencing family breakdown, complex behavioural issues, domestic abuse or substance abuse.
Staff will work with families to provide flexible support to improve outcomes for young people when going into care is not in their best interests.
Alongside offering robust prevention against some young people entering care, the outlined proposals will also reduce the costs to the council.
Bosses hope that the investment will safely lower the number of children aged between 12 and 16 entering care, lowering the number of children in unregistered placements and provide a long-term reduction in costs due to fewer children entering care, and more children being able to live in cost-effective and caring fostering placements.
Coun Trevor Cave, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services, said: “Whenever we can, we want to support families to stay together to make positive long-term changes and provide the stability that young people need to grow and thrive.
“The proposed development of this service provides us with a brilliant opportunity to meet the best interests of each child’s needs and more positive outcomes for young people across our communities.
“It also allows us to use our financial resources more strategically so that we can continue to support children across Barnsley to aspire and achieve.”
