There can be no question that the carers who take on the task of fostering young people in need are a very special breed. The youths they open their homes to more often than not arrive traumatised and troubled, with a complex history of health and welfare problems.
Concerningly, NSW’s foster carers are leaving the system in droves, with nearly 1000 authorised carers quitting the system in the past year.
There are about 15,000 children and young people in the NSW child protection system, which is under pressure on several fronts, as reported by The Sun-Herald last year. This includes a shortage of caseworkers, delays in investigating reports of children believed to be at risk, and an over-reliance on emergency accommodation.
Foster carers say there are a number of reforms required to the child protection system.Credit: iStock
There is also a shortage of foster carers. There are only 11,000 households in NSW with one or more registered carers, which means just one-third of the children needing a foster placement will receive one. The shortage of carers has resulted in an increasing number of children being housed in residential care, consisting of facilities run by NGOs and private companies.
The people who take on the role of foster carers in our community are, quite rightly, prevented by law from being identified, to protect the young people in their care.
The Sun-Herald, along with our sister paper the Sydney Morning Herald, is committed to the principle of identifying sources, but we have respected the need for anonymity in our story today on the issues facing foster carers in NSW.
Reporter Amber Schultz has spoken to a number of foster carers who could not be identified by name, exploring the issues they believe need to be addressed to ensure that foster carer numbers grow instead of dwindle.
They have highlighted the ways they believe the system can be overhauled to stem the flow of carers leaving, and ensure existing and new carers feel supported.
Among the issues they see is the number of placements to which children are subjected – one in three children will have three or more placements in their time in care – as well as the level of financial support offered to foster parents.
Our foster carers deserve our support
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02.03.2024
There can be no question that the carers who take on the task of fostering young people in need are a very special breed. The youths they open their homes to more often than not arrive traumatised and troubled, with a complex history of health and welfare problems.
Concerningly, NSW’s foster carers are leaving the system in droves, with nearly 1000 authorised carers quitting the system in the past year.
There are about 15,000 children and young people in the NSW child protection system, which is under pressure on several fronts, as reported by The........
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