TWO disabled children placed in the care of a Gwent council’s social services were housed for a period in unregistered care homes.
Councils house children in unregistered accommodation, which they describe as care homes operating without registration, when they are unable to place them with foster carers or approved, registered children’s homes.
Figures from Torfaen Borough Council show that at September 14 this year its Disabled Children’s Team was supporting 84 children and of those 16 were in the council’s care, known as looked after children.
Four were still able to live at home with their parents, with support from social workers and in line with plans to reduce the numbers taken into care, and three were supported by other family members, known as kinship carers.
Three children were in residential placements with the same number with independent foster carers.
But two children, at that time, had been placed in accommodation known as unregistered care homes.
The council’s head of children and family services Jacalyn Richards told its scrutiny committee’s Wednesday, October 2 meeting, those two children are no longer in unregulated accommodation. One has been able to return home and another has been found a place in registered, residential accommodation.
The social services manager told councillors: “You never want to be in a position where you have children in unregulated placements, it is even more concerning when it is disabled children.”
Cwmbran Fairwater Labour councillor Jayne Watkins asked if the council has an adequate number of experienced foster carers and if it is more difficult to find placements for disabled children.
Ms Richards said councillors would be aware “placement sufficiency is an issue across the board” for children in care and said: “The direct answer is yes, it is more difficult but having said that there are some really highly skilled foster carers out there able to meet the needs of disabled children.”
Cllr Watkins asked if the council offers training so foster carers can accommodate disabled children and was told while they aren’t specifically approved to care for disabled children it provides “support and training to upskill them to do that.”
In April Jason O’Brien, Torfaen council’s director for social care, told a scrutiny committee it and other councils use unregulated children’s homes due to demand and lack of availability.
At that time the borough had two children in such accommodation and Mr O’Brien said enhanced monitoring is put in place and Care Inspectorate Wales informed.
The 16 looked after children with a disability make up 4.37 per cent of Torfaen’s looked after children population.