A child comes into care and needs a foster family every 22 minutes across the UK, new figures from the Fostering Network have revealed.
The alarming figure highlights the growing pressure on the care system and the scale of the challenge facing fostering services already struggling with a shortage of foster carers.
Figures from Cafcass have shown a record number of applications for care orders in recent months in England, suggesting the pressure on foster care is set to continue unless more people come forward to foster.
According to the Fostering Network, an estimated 8,750 new foster families are needed across the UK in 2012 alone. Without these extra families, too many children won’t get the right foster home first time. They end up living a long way from family, friends and school, are repeatedly moved around as fostering relationships break down, or even end up in residential care when fostering has been identified as their best option.
