Foster and kinship carer recruitment and retention: Encouraging and sustaining quality care to improve outcomes for children and young people in care.

Abstract

Across Australia, there are major challenges in recruiting and retaining foster carers, and this has major impacts on the wellbeing of children and young people. The attraction and retention of appropriately skilled and qualified carers remains a ‘high priority’ in response to the ever increasing demand for outiofihome care (OOHC) placements, and the complexity of the needs of children and young people (ACIL Allen, 2013). It has been estimated that 14% of foster carers in Australia are choosing to cease caring every year (McHugh & Pell, 2013). In response to these major challenges in recruiting and retaining carers, the Sidney Myer Fund and the Myer Foundation funded the Australian Foster Care Association and the Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS) at the Australian Catholic University, to undertake a national research project. The project aimed to address the anticipated risk to the foster care workforce by identifying and disseminating the most effective strategies to attract, support and retain foster caring families across all states and territories. The project comprised three stages: a literature review on foster care attraction, recruitment and retention (Thomson, McArthur & Watt, 2016); a qualitative study; and an online national survey of foster and kinship care service organisations. The subject of this report is to present the findings of stage two of the project, a qualitative study aimed at identifying successful and new approaches to recruitment, support and retention of foster care and kinship carers.