The greatest threat to English Residential Child Care is complacency by…

Government

• thinking the Care Review now Children’s Wellbeing Bill took into account all that was made available to them, there are serious gaps in thinking and evidence, and hence in policy.
• thinking that they have a strategy for higher level co-occurring needs.
• thinking they have ‘cracked it’.
• thinking they have the experts they need.
• believing their own rhetoric
• thinking it’s not rocket science (it is far more complex than that)
• thinking the current costs are what is required to meet need when, in fact, it is higher and current spending compromises need and in doing so inflates spending whilst failing to invest in services to enhance life prospects of children in care and recycle the resultant fiscal benefits into the economy
• believing a market works effectively to meet all needs.
• not understanding, for some children, the value and diversity of residential child care in enabling a secure emotional base as a firm foundation for future life.

Local Authorities

• believing Regional Care Co-ops are a solution.
• believing providers will do as they are directed.
• acting as if they have the upper hand.
• having no ‘plan b’ if providers simply disappear when faced with current conditions.
• thinking commissioning is the only way.

Providers

• thinking it is all over – no more shocks.
• nothing will happen.
• thinking ‘they’ can’t do without ‘us’.
• thinking that the current situation will continue.
• thinking that ‘someone’ will ‘save’ them.

Researchers

• thinking research studies give an accurate picture rather than just another view.
• believing that all the evidence is in their work.
• thinking there is evidenced based practice – at best it is evidence informed.

All of the above

• thinking ‘residential care’ is a contained concept when in reality it’s a multiplicity of inter-connected and focussed practices.
• thinking that constant and consistent ‘tinkering with and reviewing a failing system can work.

Which leads to a conclusion that

Residential Child Care in England is still requiring radical redesign by a coalition of non-aligned interested experts in residential child care to build, from the ground upwards, a residential child care sector as part of a comprehensively redesigned care system.