At a meeting of key players in the children's sector earlier this week to discuss the proposals contained in the Care Matters green paper, one message that came across loud and clear is the need for beter placement choice for children in care.
But key to that is ensuring the availability of quality residential care placements, as well as quality foster care placements.
Commission for Social Care Inspection chair Denise Platt criticised the "underlying antipathy" towards residential care in the government's proposals and ensuing discussions, while Victoria Climbie Inquiry chair Lord Laming complained about the polarised debate on the issue.
Research by A National Voice, which represents care leavers and children in care, confirms the importance to young poeple of having the option of a place in a decent children's home as an alternative to a foster care placement.
For their sakes, we must not allow residential care to be devalued or treated as second best. We should be focusing our efforts instead on ensuring residential staff receive the training they need to give children in their care the necessary support.