Teenagers ‘handed to criminals and abusers’, says new report

Vulnerable teenagers are being handed over to criminals and abusers by the current care system, according to a new report.

The system, which is being stretched to the limits – as evidenced by the tragic murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson – is “struggling to adapt” to the needs of older children.

The inflexible hours and work practices of a system largely designed for small children, is not suited to the “often chaotic lives of vulnerable teens”.

These are the findings of a report by the Commission on Young Lives, which was set up in September 2021 to look into teenagers at risk.

Anne Longfield, chair of the commission, said: “A children’s social care system that is supposed to protect vulnerable teenagers is frequently putting them in even greater danger. Often, we may as well be handing over children directly to ruthless gangs and criminals. It is unfit for purpose.”

The commission makes a number of recommendations including setting up a ministerial taskforce for vulnerable teenagers at risk, and a guarantee that teenagers are not placed in unregulated accommodation.

Other recommendations include recruiting more specialist teen foster carers and launching a ‘teenager at risk’ helpline.

Longfield added: “Resetting children’s social care in this new offer for teenagers will require determined action and some funding, but it is clear there are huge benefits not only to those vulnerable young people who need protection, but also to the public purse.

“We need a new offer for vulnerable teenagers in care and on the edge of care, and this report provides one.”

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the Local Government Association, said the reduction in council budgets is making it “increasingly difficult” for councils to keep children and young people safe.

“Despite increasing children’s social care budgets by over £1 billion over the last two years at the expense of other services, these services still face a shortfall of at least £600 million a year,” she said.

Councils also need help with finding homes for young people who cannot live with their parents, she added. “We urgently need the government to work with us on recruiting the foster carers and children’s homes workforce that we need to support our children in care.”