Charities question councils' treatment of teenagers presenting as homeless

Children’s charity leaders have raised concerns over reports that children treated as homeless by local authorities rather than as in need of care are not being offered adequate information about their entitlements. A Freedom of Information request by the BBC sent to all London councils revealed figures for the number of councils who accommodated 16-and 17-year-olds under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 were low or incomplete. Homeless children getting in touch with their local authority were reported to be "misled and unsure" when making decisions regarding their accommodation and wellbeing, with some being placed under Section 17 of the act which mean...

We must pledge to change our approach to looked-after children

Children in the care system are some of the most at risk in our society. As the scandals of recent years have shown, when issues arise in this system the voices of looked after children are often lost or silenced. One problem that is clear time and again is that children from troubled backgrounds are often treated as a problem to be solved rather than a person to be nurtured. A recent report ‘Lives transformed, potential fulfilled’ detailed the impact that this has: children who have been in care make up 25% of the homeless and 24% of the prison population, and just 13% of care leavers progress to higher education by the age of 19. Mental hea...

Children in care will be driven to appointments in luxury Mercedes-Benz

...