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A government minister has said he wants to see a Wirral children's home's approach to care replicated across England.
According to Birkenhead News, Children's Minister Josh MacAlister visited one of We Are Juno's four foster homes in the Liverpool City Region this week as he prepares to announce major reforms to the care system. The company opened a fourth home in Runcorn in May. Juno has homes in Wallasey, another in neighbouring New Brighton, and Oxton.
The non-profit works with local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to create warm environments for children in care. On his tour, Mr MacAlister was shown how each child can add their preference of wallpaper and decorations to their room.
He said: "I've heard a lot about Juno over the years, but I've never been to see one of the homes. I've been to a lot of children's homes, and they don't all feel like this."
He continued, "There are too many homes that lack a sense of personality and don't feel like a home. This is the sort of care system that we're trying to build across the whole of England."
The visit took place ahead of Mr MacAlister's "biggest package of changes" to revamp the UK's care system in a long while. The Regional Care Cooperative model, which already exists in Greater Manchester and the South East of England, is being rolled out to around two-thirds of the country.
Liverpool City Region and Cheshire have been announced as one of the new RCC areas. This approach brings together local authorities into one region. That way they can combine their spending power and expertise to help each other and reform the care system.
Mr MacAlister has also promised to add 10,000 foster care homes to the plans by the end of this Parliament. In other words, before August 2029, which is when the next General Election must be called by.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also visited the home. He praised Mr MacAlister for being "on top of his brief" and said: "We looked at a way of doing things differently with Juno to create an alternative to some of the harrowing stories you hear."
He highlighted the vulnerability of people in care and how the plans are about giving those people a "genuine opportunity to reach their full potential".
