Planning and supporting permanence in long-term foster care

Dates: November 2018 - December 2021
Research Team: Dr Birgit Larsson, Professor Gillian Schofield, Professor Elsbeth Neil, Julie Young, Dr Marcello Morciano and Dr Yiu-Shing Lau
Funder: Nuffield Foundation

This study investigated the implementation of the first regulations and guidance on long-term foster care (2015), using an analysis of Department for Education data, a national survey and interviews. The study found that 40% of children in foster care in England were in long-term foster care, but with a wide range across local authorities.  The regulations and guidance had raised the profile of long-term foster care as a positive permanence option, but it was important to ensure that procedures were both rigorous and sensitive to the needs of each child through to and in adulthood.