Children can be 'in care' or 'looked after' by people other than their parents for a number of reasons including where:
- an informal temporary short-term arrangement by a parent with family or friends
- a temporary arrangement by a parent with extended family or friends for longer than 4 weeks - known as 'private fostering'
- an arrangement to give the child and their family a break e.g. where a child has intensive needs such as a disability
- a child has been placed in specialist accommodation because they are appearing in court for criminal offences
- they have been removed from their family by the Police or Local Authority because they need to be kept safe
- a child has been formally placed with wider family of friends to live permanently because a parent is unable to look after them
- a child has come to the UK seeking asylum without any adult able to care for them (known as Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child or UASC