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Safe Steps will help England & Wales most vulnerable youngsters
30/09/08
A unique programme that aims to help some of society's most vulnerable children and young people makethe transition from residential care into stable family life with foster carers has been launched today.Thought to be the first programme of its kind in the UK, Safe Steps, has been developed by leading independent fostering agency, Pathway Care Group, in partnership with established residential care provider Marlowe Child & Family Services.
Utilising the knowledge and expertise of both agencies, Safe Steps is a short-term flexible programme tailored to the individual needs of a child or young person.
Over 11%* of all children and young people in care in England & Wales are currently in residential care facilities such as a children's home, secure unit, or hostel. That's the equivalent of 7,335 children and young people. The programme hopes to reduce this number by integrating them into a stable home environment, and break the cycle of repetitive placement breakdown.
Alison Sargent, Operations Director of Pathway Care Group, said: "Safe Steps has been designed to help youngsters with a wide range of challenging behaviour and complex needs.
"We believe helping vulnerable children and young people settle into a stable family environment with highly trained foster carers will deliver better opportunities for them in the future.
"The programme will help local authorities meet the needs of vulnerable children, plan their resources efficiently, and be more cost effective for the tax payer. Savings over a typical three year period are estimated at over £250,000 per placement," she added.
Safe Steps is intended to help 5 to 18-year-olds in residential care who may have suffered a history of abuse and trauma, and have complex behavioural needs such as emotional and psychological difficulties. It will also offer solutions for young people who find themselves trapped in a cycle of repeat foster placement breakdown.
The programme helps children and young people make the transition from residential care, via a short transition residential programme which is provided by Marlowe, into foster care with specially trained foster carers, supplied by Pathway Care.
Safe Steps foster carers will receive joint training with residential staff involving a more rigid and structured framework for helping a child or young person, to ensure a consistent framework of behaviour management and conflict resolution.
David Walker is a counselor and psychologist with independent consultants Studio 3 Clinical Services. He believes Safe Steps is an innovative approach to tackling the problem of how to support society's most vulnerable children and young people.
Said Mr Walker: "Research from the UK, Germany, and Scandinavia, suggests that a joined-up holistic approach by residential care providers and foster care agencies can have very successful results.
"Foster carers on the Safe Steps programme are highly trained and this will help ensure the sustainability of support, and care for at risk young people helping them over the long-term," he added.
Safe Steps aims to provide local authorities with a flexible programme of care tailored to the needs of an individual child or young person moving them from crisis to stability in the most cost effective, and resource efficient manner.