A recent study conducted by Oxford University has found that the involvement of for-profit providers in children's care has led to more children being placed in unstable, short-term placements far from their families.
The research analyzed over 600,000 care records and identified 17,000 out-of-area placements in England between 2011 and 2022 that can be attributed to the outsourcing of care to for-profit providers. It highlights the negative impact of private involvement in care provision on vulnerable children and found that higher rates of outsourcing were associated with higher rates of placements breaking down within two years, which is considered a benchmark of stability by the government.
Over the past 30 years, the private sector has assumed predominant control over the provision of residential care for children in England. Presently, over 80% of residential homes in England operate with profit-oriented objectives, often under the ownership of sizeable chains burdened with debt and controlled by private equity investors leading to an escalating consolidation of smaller organizations.
