An accurate number of Traveller children in foster and residential care is unknown as there is no stats and no formal research evidence on this issue.
As stated by Dave Allen on the Communities of Practice blog:
Traveller children in foster and residential care, a reason for this could be found within the Looked after Children’s official census methodology. The Department for Education and Skills reports that there are currently 70,000 children looked after by the various Local Authorities in England and Wales. Publishing these results, the DfES compartmentalises “Looked after Children” according to ethnicity and race. The DfES does not maintain statistics in relation to the position Traveller children in care because there is no category that enables quantification. Despite the fact that Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers are a recognized ethnic minority group under race relation legislation and duty, they are not monitored as a separate ethnic group within the public care system.
Consequently, DfES methodology situates Traveller children outside their own ethnic status and places them inside a homogenised “other” ethnic category.
Please follow Dave Allen’s blog: Traveller children in foster and residential care at http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/2894388/blog/blog-display.do?backlink=ref&id=3140818 for more information on this issue.
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Resources:
Cemlyn, S. (2000) Assimilation, Control, Mediation or Advocacy? Social work
dilemmas in providing anti-oppressive services for Traveller children and
families. Child and Family Social Work 5 (4), 327- 341.
Cemlyn, S. (2000) From Neglect to Partnership? Challenges for social
services in promoting the welfare of Traveller children. Child Abuse
Review9 (5), 349-363.
Cemlyn, S, Greenfields, M., Burnett, S., Matthews, Z. and Whitwell, C.
(2009) Inequalities experienced by Gypsy and Traveller communities: a
review. Equality and Human Rights Commission
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/
12inequalities_experienced_by_gypsy_and_traveller_communities_a_review.pdf
http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/1/153.full
