Most children and young people in Derbyshire enjoy happy and successful lives with their own families. However, if families have particular problems or stress, they can get additional support from a range of agencies to help them live and work together.
Through local partnerships, like multi-agency teams (MATs), early intervention strategies are used to prevent family breakdown and help with parenting. We aim to provide the right support to improve outcomes for children and young people throughout the 'child's journey'.
For some children and young people though, this might not be enough to ensure their safety and wellbeing. So, either through agreement with their parents, or through court proceedings, these children might come to be cared for by us.
When this happens, we provide alternatives to their family care, for example foster care or adoption.
If you've made a private fostering arrangement (without our involvement) to care for someone else's child or for your child to live with someone else, you must let us know. There are special rules.
Independent reviewing officers make sure that parents are consulted about their children's care regularly. Children are also consulted regularly. For more information see our section on children's wishes and feelings.