Private sector fostering providers are costing Devon county council nearly four million pounds a year, and the local authority is now looking to reduce that cost and improve its own service.
Today councillors will be looking at ways of tackling a rise in the number of children needing foster care and a fall in the number of carers.
Some carers are having to stop offering the service because they can't afford to reduce their working hours, so in future they could be offered a higher allowance.
Existing carers could also be trained and promoted to look after more challenging children and young people
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