Council bosses have blasted the 'unfair' asylum system after taking in 12,000 asylum-seeking children in just ten years.
Reform's Linden Kemkaran warned of 'exceptional demands' on Kent County Council that will lead to a 'perfect storm' in children's services.
The strain follows Ofsted lowering its rating on Monday of the local authority's performance for child care leavers from outstanding to requires improvement.
Ms Kemkaran linked rising pressures with long-term underfunding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), citing 12,000 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children entered care between 2015 and 2025.
The figures have tripled from 4,000 children between 2006 and 2015.
Children have moved across local authorities in attempts to help distribute care appropriately since 2023, as under a National Transfer Scheme (NTS), but the council leader claims numbers remain high.
People aged 16-25 who have been in care, known as 'care leavers', can remain in the duty of care of the authority until they turn 25, but councils no longer receive Government funding after the person turns 21.
Some 1,012 UASC care leavers are currently in the authority's care, comparing to 893 British citizen care leavers.
Ms Kemkaran said the continued small number of small boats creates 'a perfect storm in children's services'
Ms Kemkaran said despite the NTS being 'broken and ineffective', the council is 'still caring for the legacy of unaccompanied asylum seeking young people' who arrived a decade ago.
She attributed this to 'delays in asylum decisions' and 'the absence of any family or community networks'.
At the end of September 2025, 80,841 people were awaiting a decision on their asylum application, according to governmental figures.
Some 9,656 children were granted asylum between July and September 2025.
Ms Kemkaran said the continued small number of small boats creates 'a perfect storm in children's services', which is felt against 'sustained high numbers of unaccompanied children, complex and delayed immigration processes and some of the high housing costs in the country'.
No council, no matter how well run, can absorb this sustained underfunding indefinitely.
Government funding drops from £1,100 a week for those under 18 to £270 for care leavers.
Deputy leader of the opposition Richard Streatfield said improvements could be made using council funds and accused Reform of 'failing' in its outcomes for care leavers.
The Liberal Democrat called the reality as 'a smoke screen for failure to be a good corporate parent by Reform'.
He added: 'We've known this problem is going to arrive because it arrived, as was demonstrated very aptly by the leader, over 10 years ago, and has been working its way slowly through this, through the system, and now we are faced with a particular bulge.
'But it's not like we didn't know this was happening. So are we adequately funding it? No, we're not.'
Mr Streatfield said there are opportunities for Reform to raise taxes or to save funds to support it, he said: 'Because we forget in this whilst UASC children are being blamed, it's actually 800 care leavers from Kent who are feeling the result of this failure.'
This follows the prediction the council will increase council tax by 3.99 per cent in its budget for the next financial year.
Ofsted found it is 'extremely problematic' for care leavers who do not have decided immigration status to try to get education, training or employment but an alternative offer from the authority is 'poor.'
Following the inspection, improvements to quality of accommodation and support for care leavers, especially those who are vulnerable to exploitation, was called for.