The number of Welsh children taken in care hit a record high in February.
Eighty-eight children in the principality were removed from their families that month. The second highest month on record is March 2010, in the aftermath of the scandals surrounding the death of ‘Baby P’, when 83 children were taken into care.
Paul Apreda is the National Manager of Wales-based charity FNF Both Parents Matter Cymru. He described the rise as “very worrying”
“Much more needs to be done to address the ‘Crisis of Care’ that we are seeing across Wales with Local Authorities removing children from parents at an alarming rate.”
The Welsh government has established a working group to examine the issues but not included any parental campaigners, he added.
“… we remain concerned that despite the clear message from politicians social workers will continue to act to remove children from their families.”
In January, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Sally Holland former Minister for Health & Social Services Mark Drakeford appeared at a meeting of the Family Justice Network for Wales, a community of local agencies involved in family law. Both mentioned the rise in care applications during their speeches, with the Minister reiterating an earlier claim that:
“I believe we take too many children into the care of public authorities.”
