More than 200 babies in Bristol were removed from their parents before the age of six months in the past five years. A total of 81 Bristol babies came into care within a week of being born between 2019 and 2023, with a further 142 being removed from their birth parents before turning six months old.
Information released to Bristol Live after a Freedom of Information request also shows a decreasing number of children are being adopted in the city, with the number of Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) increasing. As explained by Cafcass, a SGO is unlike adoption, in that it is not lifelong and ends when the child turns 18.
SGO also do not legally end the child’s relationship with their birth family and the person looking after the child is usually someone already known by the child such as another relative or a foster carer.
In 2019, 20 children were adopted and 36 were placed under SGOs. However, the number of adoptions has since gradually reduced to nine in 2023 while the number of SGOs has ranged from a peak of 40 in 2021 and a low of 22 in 2023.
In terms of adoptions, the Bristol City Council figures show children under the age of three were the most likely to be adopted, with 14 adoptions of such age happening both in 2019 and 2020. This compares to six adoptions of children aged 3 to 10 in 2019 and 2020.
No teenagers were adopted in Bristol between 2019 and 2023. The council also released figures on the number of children currently in foster placements in the city.
This has remained fairly static since 2019, ranging from 680 to 713. The number of repeat removals has also stayed consistent in that time, staying between 26 and 36 each year.
According to Foster Care UK, there are many reasons why social services would need to intervene and place a child or children into care, such as neglect, parent illness, physical or emotional abuse, abandonment or parent incarceration.
Foster Care UK said: “When a child is placed into the care system, a local authority assesses the child’s situation – determining the level of care required. This care will be to ensure the child is provided with a substantial home where they can be taken care of in a safe and secure environment.
“This may be on a short-term basis if the child is able to return to their birth parents, or it could become a more long-term placement if reunification is not likely.”