Children’s residential care provider to close 28 homes in one week

Thu,4 May 2023
Health & Social Care Housing
This week the fourth largest provider of looked-after children’s care homes in the UK, Outcomes First, will be closing 28 residencies – currently housing around 60 Disabled children.

A staff member told The Guardian that the homes have been told they have to be out this week with or without placements for the children, who risk being placed in bigger homes (unsuitable for children who cannot deal well with change) or placed back with Local Authorities. They said: “There are no placements for any of them to go to. We have been told that there is no leeway on the dates and we are desperately worried about them and what will become of them.”

DR UK’s Anna Morell said: “The closure of the homes means the residents will lose trusted and loved caregivers. In essence, they are forced to undergo massive amounts of bereavement with the loss of such people. They are expected to transition without these people – the very people who could and do help them navigate life’s curveballs. They will also need to move schools and therapy provision, and be moved further away from family members – all lodestones which help them feel secure and thrive.

“This is the problem when profits are placed above need. People become commodities. Assets to be stripped, discarded, and, in essence, utterly screwed over.

Kids need compassionate, trusted caregivers, stability and routine. This is especially true for children with learning disabilities, mental health distress or neurodiversity – where changes can trigger the distress of meltdowns and cause long term anguish and further disablement.

These homes are run by a firm owned by a private equity company. When people’s lives become part of a profit margin equation, all humanity is stripped from decisions with catastrophic results.”