DORSET has been unable to find a secure placement for a vulnerable youngster – anywhere in the country.

The authority is also having difficulty finding any care placements with many establishments having closed their doors to new admissions during the coronavirus crisis.

Dorset currently has around 480 children and young people in its care, one of the highest rates for comparable counties, with more due to come into care in the coming weeks.

Children’s services and education brief holder Cllr Andrew Parry says there are a number of planned admissions into the care system expected soon although there is “a significant pressure in placing children within the county.”

He said he was concerned that the costs of new placements, if they could be found, was likely to increase, because of the national shortage of places.

“This is a serious concern, especially with regard to secure accommodation of which there is a nationwide shortage,” he said.

Executive director for children’s services, Theresa Leavy, told councillors that problems have been compounded by many Dorset foster carers being unable to take additional children because they are either shielding or isolating to protect their own families or existing foster children, or simply do not have the space.

She said that, nationally, about half of the placements for children and young people were no longer admitting children.

“There are presently no secure care beds across the country and today, 51 local authorities, including us, are seeking one of those beds…so we are in a challenging position,” she said.

She paid tribute to social workers who have continued to visit troubled families throughout the crisis and the way local schools, working in clusters, had risen to the challenge of both lockdown and providing places for vulnerable children and the children of keyworkers.

Ms Leavy said safeguarding issues had been slowly increasing although there had been concern in the early days of the pandemic when calls to social services had been abnormally low.

She said a weekly safeguarding meeting was now being held monitoring issues of domestic abuse, child abuse, drug and alcohol use and issues of community safety: “We are working together to ensure we continue to see our most vulnerable in our society in terms of children and families,” she said.

Ms Leavy said 15,000 Dorset residents had been assessed as needing to shield from others, staying in their homes for three months, mainly because of health conditions. She said some of those were very young children who have significant health conditions.

She said that even when lockdown restrictions were eased many in the shielded group would have to remain at home.