A COUNCIL is still searching for one more property to complete the first stage of opening its own homes for children in and leaving care.

A strategy for developing in-house children’s homes and supported accommodation for young people aged 16 and over was agreed two years ago.

Since then Monmouthshire County Council has opened a new children’s home, for up to four children, in Monmouth as well as supported accommodation for up to five young people aged 16 and over in Caldicot. It also has two smaller therapeutic children’s homes, one housing two children north of Abergavenny, and another two bedroom property in the south of the county.

A further children’s home, for four youngsters, is due to open in Caldicot in October this year and a home to be used for supported accommodation for five young people aged 16 plus is to open in Abergavenny, also in October.

Jane Rogers, the council’s social services director, told its performance and overview scrutiny committee a search for a further property for supported accommodation, intended to help children, from age 16, move towards independence is still being sought.

She said: “We are still looking for one more supported accommodation placement, ideally in the Monmouth area.”

Ms Rogers said when it is has found a suitable property the council will be ready to “pause” the strategy as it feels it will have sufficient capacity for residential placements, and supported accommodation.

That is despite the figure of eight children’s home places being below the 12 it initially planned for while it has four therapeutic places available and it is likely to have either 13 or 14 spaces in supported accommodation, below the original estimate of more than 20.

Those figures have been revised for a number of reasons including an agreement with a company working in Cardiff and Newport that that supports the small number of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the council’s care and which provides accommodation in those cities, which Ms Rogers said the children prefer.

The numbers of children in care, and those requiring residential placements, has stabilised while the council has also had more foster carers come forward and is on track to meet its target this year for increasing their number.

Monmouthshire currently runs the Monmouth home with its own staff, and the therapeutic home in the south, and intends to do the same at the children’s home in Caldicot while third sector agencies are responsible for staffing the supported accommodation. The therapeutic home north of Abergavenny is run in a partnership with a housing association.

It has also had to respond to new Welsh legislation that eliminates profit from children’s care, meaning from from April 2030 it will be illegal to make new placements for children with a ‘for-profit’ provider. Councillors were told talks are ongoing on how current providers, including private foster care placements, will respond and how many intend switching to not for profit models to continue operating.

The committee was told a private residential place currently costs the council around £7,000 to £8,000 a week but its own in house placement in Monmouth is around £4,000 a week, which includes staffing costs, heating, electricity and all other costs of running a house.

The council has spent nearly £2.15m on the various properties, which has been fully funded through Welsh Government grants. Ms Rogers said standards related to fire doors and sprinklers have pushed up costs, and older homes have required additional work, but projected savings had still been achieved.