The latest National Statistics on Children Looked After, produced by the Local Government Data Unit and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The key points from the latest release are:

• There was a 0.2% decrease in the number of children looked after at 31st March 2008 (excluding short-term or respite care). In the previous year, the number of children looked after increased by 2.5%.
• Approximately 11% of children looked after at 31st March 2008 had three or more placements during the year.
• Local authorities were in touch with 93% of 19 year old care leavers; 49% of these young people were in education, training or employment.

The full release can be downloaded from the Statistics for Wales website.