Radical with Amol Rajan Children in Care: How to Fix the Fostering Crisis (Louise Allen)
Jan 22, 2026
Louise Allen, a foster carer, author, and charity founder with personal experience in the care system, discusses the urgent fostering crisis in England. With 83,630 children in care, she highlights the need for more honesty about fostering and the retention of care providers. Louise shares her challenging upbringing, the impact of technology on children, and suggests radical solutions like providing cleaners to foster homes. She argues for a national framework to improve support for current foster carers, ensuring better outcomes for vulnerable children.
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Record Rise Driven By Social Instability
- England has a record high number of children in care driven by social instability and weakened family support systems.
- Louise Allen highlights housing, poverty and community breakdown as root causes that push children toward care.
From Care To Running Away At 15
- Louise Allen was placed in care before birth and went through adoption, neglect and repeated returns to care during childhood.
- She ran away at 15, survived independently, and later became a foster carer for over a decade.
Smartphones Fuel Emotional Neglect
- Louise argues smartphone use has created a generation with weakened interpersonal skills and widespread emotional neglect.
- She links parental screen reliance to children lacking boundaries, tiredness recognition and basic social cues.
