As someone who has worked in children’s homes since the 1960s and who is part of a community of people who have experience of generally good children’s homes, I don’t expect the government’s proposed reforms will have the desired effect (Overhaul of children’s social care in England will crack down on firms’ profiteering, 18 November). When care was put in the hands of profit-driven providers and local authorities and charities stopped providing the homes that some ran well in the past, what did we think would happen?
When social workers are so restricted in time and resources that they are forced to turn to shameless profiteers to accommodate children who need a home, love and childcare expertise, why are we shocked that children are not getting the support they need?
And what makes us think that “quality” can be injected into children’s homes by requiring them to comply with ill-conceived rules and regulations? Regulation that is more to do with the protection of policy and decision-makers than with the love, care and wellbeing provided by a good children’s home.
Cost itself is not the issue. The security and community that good children’s homes created remain, even if the buildings are gone. They understand their purpose and stick to it. Over time, they cost our society comparatively little and benefit us all.
John Burton
Tiverton, Devon
• Heather Stewart writes that improving working conditions at the coalface of social care is more important than the drive to cap consumers’ costs (Talks are a good place to start task of improving the UK’s social care, 17 November). But the funding crisis is so desperate that the first question asked of those who need it is whether they have the money to pay for it. If they do have savings, then however severe their need for medical care – which should be paid for by the NHS – they will invariably end up paying all the fees for their care home place, at a cost of thousands of pounds a month.
When their savings run out, the council then pays. The culture of collusion between councils and the NHS that has grown out of chronic underfunding has tainted assessments of people’s needs. It’s time for this to be dragged from under the carpet.
Janet Maitland
London
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