It is the duty of the local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The Children Act 1989 places duties on the courts and local authorities to ensure that every effort is made to keep families together by providing support to children at home.
If a child has to live away from their own home and is cared for by the local authority Social Services Department, this is known as being ‘looked-after’. There are 700 children looked-after by Devon Social Services. The proportion of children in foster homes is around 76%, with 5% of looked-after children adopted each year.
The long-term future of looked-after children is decided at Permanency Planning Meetings.
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