High quality the key for children in care, says Sussex academic

High quality the key for children in care, says Sussex academic. What matters most for children in care is the quality and stability of their placements and relationships, says a University of Sussex academic who has contributed to a national investigation into how best to provide stable and permanent homes for these children. A new report by Dr Janet Boddy , Reader in Child, Youth & Family Studies at Sussex and Co-Director of the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth ( CIRCY ), examines what the research evidence can tell us about "permanence" for children in care. Dr Boddy was commissioned to prepare the briefing paper by the Care Inquiry. Established in 2012, the Inquiry is a collaboration between eight specialist charities involved in fostering, adoption and residential care and with families of children in care, supported by the Nuffield Foundation. Dr Boddy presented her paper to the first evidence-gathering session of the Care Inquiry in November 2012 and her review - a reflective discussion of key research evidence - was published with the launch of the Inquiry's final report in the House of Commons on Tuesday (30 April). The Care Inquiry's main overall conclusion - drawing on Dr Boddy's review of the research evidence as well as other submissions and consultation exercises - is that "permanence" for children who cannot live with their birth parents (whether permanently or temporarily) means "security, stability, love and a strong sense of identity and belonging".