In 1974, a Council of Europe-commissioned working group of international researchers completed a report on child placement practices.
Conventional wisdom in England at the time surmised that adolescents were unfit for foster care.
The only solution available involved the institutionalisation of such children by way of alternative or boarding schools.
The idea encountered a fair amount of resistance, because it went against conventional wisdom.
The Kent Family Placement Project was designed to keep looked-after children with family and friends, encourage participation of the looked-after child with their caregivers, as well as offering compensation and proper training to foster carers for their work.