Looked After Children

The local authority has a legal duty, when it comes to safeguarding and the promotion of the welfare of children wherever possible in their home and community. However in some cases there are times when a child’s interests can be best met by being cared for away from their family home.
‘Looked after’ is a term used to define when an arrangement is made for a child to live away from their families, this can be done as part of voluntary arrangement that comes as a result from a care order or ranging from a short break to being kept away for a longer period of time. The length of time the child can be kept away for can ultimately depend on that of the needs of the child and the family’s circumstances. Parents have the ability to continue being responsible for their children while they are away from home, however the responsibility is shared with the local authority when the child has the care order.
When thinking about children in care, people often come to the conclusion that this is due to abuse or neglect of the child, however that may not always be the case. Children can be placed into care due to the fact that their parents have become ill or unable to cope with them, however under certain circumstances they may be allowed to return to their family home once it is shown that their parents situation has improved enough in order for the parents to be fully able to look after their child, the length of time can vary depending on the circumstances. In this case it could be that the child in question is being raised by a single parent with no help from other family members or friends, and may be going into hospital for an operation or that the parent experienced an illness which prevented them from looking after their child.
'Children can be abused in various ways that not only include being abused physically but also emotionally and