Review under way at children’s services

Under pressure children’s services at Dudley Council are being reviewed to create a new strategy for the next five years.

The review is going on as the council pays out millions of pounds to fund out-of-borough residential placements for 63 of the 581 looked after children in Dudley.

A meeting of the council’s Children’s Corporate Parenting Board in July heard the cost of children in care is £40m per year, with much of that going to private sector providers.

Dudley cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Wayne Little, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The council is currently refreshing its Children’s Social Care Sufficiency Strategy, which will outline our plans for the next five years in line with our ambition to secure a home for every child. 

“As part of this work, we are carefully considering the types of care and support we need to develop or commission, both through our external partners and within our own services. 

“This includes ensuring we have the right homes in Dudley for children in our care, while also strengthening multi-agency support to help families stay together wherever possible.” 

The board was also told there are currently no residential care homes for children in Dudley and placing them out of the borough means they are separated from their family, friends, school and community which can have a detrimental effect when they leave care.

According to data obtained from a Freedom of Information request, the furthest placement from Dudley is 289 miles away while the average length of a placement is 591 days.

The longest current out of borough placement is 16 years and six months.

Cllr Little said: “Looking after our children within Dudley provides many benefits for children and families as well as providing financial savings. 

“I have consistently made this point in cabinet. The leader and cabinet colleagues support this position.

“We can invest capital assets in the council to provide children’s homes, and we are actively reviewing opportunities to open additional homes. 

“We also want to expand the number of local foster carers who provide amazing support to many of our children in care.”