More than 100 children in care in Hertfordshire have had three or more placements over the last 12 months, according to data presented to county councillors.

However, most of those in care for two and a half years or longer have remained in the same placement for the past two years.

The data was included in a performance report presented to a meeting of the council's children's social care cabinet panel this month. .

According to that report, 109 of the 997 children in care at the end of March – equivalent to 10.9% – had three or more placements.

According to the data, that is an improvement on December 2024, when 126 of the 1,028 children living in care, equivalent to 12.3%, had been moved between three or more placements.

However, the figures are still comparatively high, ranking the authority in the bottom half of local authorities nationally for placement stability.

The council has set up working groups to look at how to "improve the journey of children who are new into care" and how to support stability for those who have been in care longer.

Service manager Paul Dryden highlighted an increase in the number of residential placements in the county.

But he said that finding suitable placements was challenging in Hertfordshire and nationally.

"It's been very difficult to find suitable placements for children in care," he said.

"There's a national shortage of foster placements. And it's very difficult to find that right placement when children come into care.

"Historically, where we have had poor performance in this area, we have actually found that it's related to children who have been in care for a long time.

"At the moment, we're finding there's more pressure with new children coming into care and finding suitable placements for them.

"There's a lot of work going on to increase the number of foster placements and also increase the number of residential placements within Hertfordshire. And that is starting to see improvements."

The report shows an increase in the proportion of Hertfordshire children in care for two and a half years or longer, who have been in the same placement for the past two years.

As of March 2025, that percentage had reached 72.9 % – higher than the 69.6% recorded three months earlier (December 2024) and the 70.9% recorded in March 2024.

Nationally, this measure of long-term stability places the authority in the top quartile. Mr Dryden said there had since been a further increase to 74%.

He suggested that "for those children who've been in care with us for a long time, we're actually really strong at making sure that they remain stable in their placements".

At the meeting, the executive director for children's services, Jo Fisher, particularly referenced those teenagers, who make up more than 70% of the county's children in care, experiencing acute levels of need.

She said that finding the right placement to meet their needs in the current context could be incredibly difficult.

She said children may be placed in emergency or interim placements until they can be moved on to a more stable placement.

The director of specialist services and commissioning, Miranda Gittos, stressed that not every placement move was negative.

She highlighted moves that included an adoption placement, a kinship arrangement or long-term fostering.

Overall, the data presented to councillors shows that the number of children in care in Hertfordshire dropped to 997 at the end of March, from 1,028 in December.

Of those 997, there are 118 separated migrant children, which is lower than the 151 recorded in December 2024.

The rate of looked-after children in Hertfordshire, measured by 10,000 population, decreased to 36.8.