The Department for Education has awarded funding to create a new West Midlands Regional Care Cooperative. The partnership will receive up to £680,000 in 2026/27 and £1.026 million in 2027/28.
Fourteen councils across the West Midlands will take part, including Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Health services, police and youth justice partners will also be involved.
What the partnership will do
The Regional Care Cooperative is part of the Government's plans to improve children's social care. It will help councils work together to find suitable homes and support for children in care.
Over 11,500 children and young people are currently in care across the West Midlands. Many councils face challenges finding the right homes and meeting growing needs.
The partnership will create more local support for children, improve fostering and children's home provision, and make it easier to plan services across the region. It will also help more children stay close to their families, friends, schools and communities when possible.
Next steps
The next stage of the process will focus on building the new partnership, improving planning and data sharing, working more closely with foster parents and care providers, and ensuring services can meet future demand.