Latest statistics published on children in care in Scotland
The Scottish Government has today (22 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland.
The information, collected from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, covers children and young people who were formally ‘Looked After’, young people who were being cared for in continuing care, and young people who were eligible for aftercare support. The statistics show both snapshot data for a single date, 31 July 2024, and data for the full reporting year of 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.
The figures show that on 31 July 2024, 11,844 children were ‘Looked After’, a decrease of 2% since 31 July 2023 (12,084).
Within this total figure, 20% (2,313) of children were being ‘Looked After at home’ on 31 July 2024, a decrease of 5% since 31 July 2024.
The majority (89%) of children were cared for in community settings, mostly with kinship carers (35%), foster carers (22%) or at home with their parents (20%).
Just over half (54%) of the children had a home address in one of the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland, while 3% were from one of the 20% least deprived areas in Scotland.
On 31 July 2024, 1,115 young people were in living in continuing care, which is 22% of the young people who were eligible for continuing care at that time.
4,454 young people were supported with aftercare services, accounting for 48% of the for young people eligible for this, an increase of 7% since 31 July 2023 (4,151). 55% of young people being supported by aftercare were in education, training or employment.