Foster care capacity slumps despite initial enquiries rise
Joe Lepper
Thursday, May 18, 2023
The number of fostering places available is falling despite an increasing number of enquiries to become a carer.
Between 2018 and 2022 the number of households fostering decreased by four per cent and over the same period there has been a five per cent slump in the number of places.
But over this period the number of enquiries has risen, most notably to independent fostering agencies (IFAs) rather than councils.
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In the year ending March 2022 there were 138,075 enquiries, an increase of 18 per cent on figures for the same period in 2017 and 2018.
Over this period the number of enquires to IFAs increased by 29 per cent to 107,030, however there were 10 per cent fewer enquiries about fostering to councils, with 31,045 people enquiring via their local authority in the 12 months to the end of March 2022.
Ofsted, which has released the figures, notes that rather than a steady decline, interest in fostering through a local authority “has gone up and down over the years”.
A worsening rate of converting initial enquiries into applications is among factors in the decline. Since 2018 the proportion of those enquiring who went on to apply has fallen from nine per cent to six percent.
Four per cent of those enquiring via IFAs went on to apply, while 12 per cent of those enquiring through councils made an application. The figures show that 950 more applications are made via IFAs than councils.
“There has been a downward trend in the number of applications for mainstream fostering over the last five years,” said Ofsted, which notes, “a relatively large number of enquiries are not translating into applications”.
Improved conversion rates are needed as the number of approvals for fostering are failing to keep pace with those leaving the role. Between 2021 and last year, 5,435 mainstream fostering households deregistered, while only 4,035 were approved.
More than three in five of fostering households are offering a range of different types of foster care, including permanent and temporary places, similar to previous years, the figures also show.
