‘Lack of foster carers’ contributed to woman’s death

A foster carer died partly as a consequence of a local council being under “significant strain” due to a lack of emergency placements for children, a coroner has said.

Marcia Grant, 60, was killed outside her home in Greenhill, Sheffield, when a car driven by a 12-year-old boy she was looking after reversed into her in April 2023.

The city’s assistant coroner, Marilyn Whittle, has now said in a Prevention of Future Deaths report that Rotherham Council’s shortage of carers led to an “unsuitable placement being accepted”.

The council said it had received the report and would respond in due course, adding that Mrs Grant was “highly respected” and a “central” figure in the fostering community.

“She made a lasting difference to the lives of many, and she remains deeply valued and greatly missed by all who knew her,” a spokesperson added.

They said the council’s priority was for children and foster carers to “receive the support, protection and respect they deserve”.

Ms Whittle said the situation was a national issue and she had sent the report to the Secretary of State for Education as well as the council.

Her report also referred to concerns raised at Mrs Grant’s inquest in July, including issues with documentation, communication and risk assessments. A narrative conclusion was recorded at the hearing.

The council had been unable to find a placement for the boy, so sent a text to all of its in-house foster carers on 30 March. The Grant family received the message, despite having been previously ruled out as a suitable match.

Mrs Grant accepted the emergency request without “full knowledge of the child’s risks”, the report stated, and there had been “apprehension from all professionals” about the match.

The child had a youth caution for possessing a knife and had at times talked about wanting to be part of gang culture, Ms Whittle had told the inquest, and there was concern that he was vulnerable to criminal exploitation.

After visiting Mrs Grant on 4 April, the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) recommended the placement not be extended over concerns that she was having to lock knives in another room.

The child was removed from her care the following day but returned because social services could not find an alternative placement.

Soon after he went back to the Grants’ home, he tried to steal their car, and Mrs Grant was killed as she stood behind the vehicle trying to stop him driving it away.

The boy was sentenced to two years in prison in November 2023 after admitting causing Mrs Grant’s death by dangerous driving, after a murder charge was dropped.

She was described by her family as a “warm, loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a pillar of her community”.

They said her death sent “shockwaves through all who knew her or was lucky enough to be included in her orbit”.