BaptCare Desperately Need Foster Carers
A Report From Foster care Blog
Baptcare, a leading provider of family and community services in Melbourne’s North-West and Western Metropolitan area, is campaigning in the local community to generate much needed awareness of the urgent need for more foster carers.
“In Victoria alone, there were 5678 children placed into Out of Home Care (a foster care, kinship care or residential care setting) in 2011, a figure which has doubled since 2002,” said Marita Scott, General Manager of Family and Community Services for Baptcare.
“In the North West and West Metropolitan regions of Melbourne, sadly 28% of children are placed into a residential care facility due to the severe shortage of foster carers within our community. For some Council areas, this equates to 20 children per night missing out on the quality and loving care a foster family can provide. This is a figure that Baptcare desperately hopes to change. We are acutely aware that the best outcome for children facing such situations is a safe and loving home environment with a foster carer or family,” continued Ms Scott.
As recruitment of new carers dwindles, and the current pool of foster
carers gets smaller, the need in our community to protect and provide
safe and loving homes for children in volatile situations has never been
greater.
Issues surrounding the recruitment of foster carers have risen over the past decade due to changes in our current lifestyles and family situations. There are more women in the workforce now than ever before, and more than half of families are dual income which has led to a decrease in recruitment. At the same time, the current pool of carers is ageing and retiring from being foster carers, which has all resulted in the current crisis foster care is facing.
Aside from lifestyle factors, research indicates one of the main barriers to recruiting foster carers is actually a lack of knowledge and awareness, as well as confusion or misinformation regarding what is involved with becoming an accredited foster carer.
