Flintshire: Staff shortage could delay children's homes opening

Some of the homes would provide a stepping stone for children, while others would provide long-term care

A planned opening of the first council-run children's homes in Flintshire for three decades could be affected by a shortage of qualified staff.

The council is set to open five sites across 2023 catering to children with differing needs, including one long-term residential site.

However a report said recruiting enough experienced staff was "a challenge", and could pose a risk to the project.

The first site could open in April and all could follow by September.

Flintshire council wants to bring caring for children in-house as part of the Welsh government's aim to end private profit in the sector, bring care closer to home and cut the costs of out-of-county placements.

One of the homes, Ty Nyth in Mold, will support up to four children at a time who are transitioning back to living with families or moving to foster care, and provide appropriate therapy and interventions.

The building was previously used as a care home but had stood empty for some time before the council bought it to refurbish for this project, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported.

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Mesen Fach, an independent annex to Ty Nyth, will provide an emergency crisis flat for children for short-term stays.

Y Dderwen will provide a long-term home for four children, and two other small group homes in Mold and Shotton will cater for children who either need to live apart from other children or just with siblings.

Regarding staffing, a report due to go before the council's social and healthcare overview committee on Thursday noted: "Recruiting to all posts has been a challenge. As we have not run our own children's homes for at least three decades we do not have a supply of candidates experienced in working in children's homes."

However it went on to say enough staff would have been recruited by the end of March to enable Ty Neth, Y Dderwen and one of the small homes to open.

Young people have been involved in providing guidance on the appearance of the homes, with an emphasis on not appearing like a workplace, and have chosen some of the artwork and soft furnishings.