In some western jurisdictions there are more children in out-of-home care today, than there have been for decades. Yet kin care aside, with many or most children in out-of-home care placed with foster carers who are essentially volunteers, Colton & Williams argue that “in many jurisdictions, the pool of people with the motivation and the capability to foster has simply diminished”.

The reasons for this are many and varied. Longer-term inter-related demographic changes continue to impact foster care. In the west, we have an aging population and high divorce rates. Increased female participation in the labour market and a need for more households to have dual incomes, is also associated with woman having children later in life. A recent research study undertaken by the European Union also found that in Europe the average age that children now leave home is 26 years, which further diminishes the pool of prospective foster carers.

Other factors include decreased home ownership (and for some less housing security) and the associated cost and size of housing in large cities in particular. Increased working hours and commuting times, and today’s overall ‘business of life’ are also factors.

As such, many jurisdictions are currently struggling to place children in placements that will sufficiently meet their needs. Trying to optimise our existing models of foster care is critically important. We need to better reach, engage, recruit, select, induct, utilise, support, develop and retain foster carers.

However, in the longer-term, is just continuing to do what we are currently doing sustainable? Here are the longer-term strategies that some organisations and jurisdictions are using or exploring.

· Make all placements, and the work undertaken with children and their families, more purposeful, as well as more efficient and effective.

· Invest in the education of children in out-of-home care and improve children and young people’s immediate, intermediate and longer-term outcomes

· Significantly expand kin care, and better provide kin carers with the support that they want and need.

· Reconfigure foster care with less reliance on ‘volunteers’

· Expand high quality small-scale residential care

· Get serious about family support and long-term alternatives to out-of-home care.

What’s the long-term out-of-home care trajectory for your organisation or jurisdiction? And how are you responding?

I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can email me at: iain@betteroutcomes.co.nz

Kia kaha (Stay Strong).

Iain

SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS