Record number of children in care in West Midlands
Record numbers of children are being taken into care by councils across the West Midlands following a string of child deaths at the hands of parents.
Councils are intervening more and more over caring for thousands of children, either by using foster families or in homes operated by local authorities.
New figures obtained by the Express & Star show that there are 3,731 children in care across Staffordshire and the four councils of the Black Country, compared with 2,935 in 2010.
The rise follows a national move towards greater efforts to tackle the dangers some children face in the wake of tragedies.
There have been cases in the West Midlands such as Wolverhampton's 23-month-old Daniel Jones, whose parents were jailed after he died from a drug overdose having swallowed some of the heroin he found at their home in Penn last year.
Three-year-old Ryan Lovell-Hancox also died after being abused at a flat in Slim Avenue, Bilston, in December 2008.
His mother had paid teenager Kayley Boleyn to look after him because she was struggling to cope.
But Boleyn and her boyfriend, Chris Taylor, then aged 23, battered the youngster to death.
Shocking cases have also included the Bradford four-year-old Hamzah Khan whose body lay undiscovered for two years and Coventry four-year-old Daniel Pelka, who was murdered by his mother and her partner .
Tom Rahilly, head of the NSPCC's looked after children programme, said: "High profile cases such as that of Baby Peter Connelly, Daniel Pelka and Hamzah Khan have led to greater awareness of child abuse with more incidents being reported."
Councillor Alan White, from Staffordshire County Council, said: "In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of children being taken into local authority care nationwide.
"This is due to a number of factors, including increased public awareness of child abuse following a number of high profile child abuse fatalities.
"Local authorities are now also improving their responses and analysis of risk to children to ensure swift and appropriate intervention in the lives of vulnerable children deemed to be at risk of neglect and abuse."
We must all do our bit to keep children safe - See your Weekend Express & Star
