'Easier to take child into care than get support'

Sanchia Berg - BBC News

Speaking at the launch of the care crisis review, a large-scale sector-led inquiry into the UK's care system, senior judge Sir Andrew McFarlane remarked that "it is easier to obtain a care order to take a child away from their family, than for the family to get support," according to this article from BBC News. The article states that the number of children in care in the country has doubled in the last 20 years. "It may properly be said that we have reached a stage where the threshold for obtaining a public law court order is noticeably low, whereas, no doubt as a result of the current financial climate, the threshold for a family being able to access specialist support services in the community is conversely very high," said McFarlane. The Review cited several factors that have led to this rise in numbers, including cuts to resources and a "culture of blame."