UK Foster Care Crisis
[An] increasing numbers of mothers are having their children taken into care in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a report has suggested.
Research by the Women’s Resource Centre, the leading national umbrella organization for the women’s sector in the UK, found that more babies are being taken into care because of rising economic insecurity pushing already struggling families into financial crisis.
The study argues that the worsening mental health of mothers and a surge in cases of domestic abuse during the Covid-19 emergency could also be behind the rise in children going into care.
Barnardo’s, one of the UK’s largest fostering agencies, says it has seen a 44 per cent rise in demand for foster parents but a 47 per cent fall in foster carers coming forward. The charity has warned that foster care is in a “state of emergency”.
