Incoming ADCS president calls for action on profit-making in fostering
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The woman who will take over as president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services next month has called for government to prioritise looking into the issue of profit-making in the fostering system.
Alison Michalska, who takes over the presidency of the ADCS from Dave Hill on 1 April, said little is currently known about the remit, timescales or format that a "stocktake" of the fostering system, announced last year by children's minister Edward Timpson, will take.
But, writing in the latest edition of CYP Now, she said the system is coming under increasing financial pressure, which is resulting in increased competition for new recruits between different local authorities and independent fostering agencies (IFAs).
"A ban on profiting from the provision of child protection services has been upheld by the government yet a handful of IFAs continue to operate on a for-profit basis," she said.
"We hope the stocktake will consider if it is appropriate for huge surpluses to be generated from the care of vulnerable children and young people and then passed onto shareholders.
"It is our belief that these funds should be re-invested into improving outcomes for children and used to reward their care-givers with the recognition and support they truly deserve."
Speaking when the fostering stocktake was first announced, current ADCS president Dave Hill called on government to examine the "immoral" profits some organisations make out of private fostering arrangements.
Earlier this month, an MP warned that councils may struggle to get value for money if mergers of independent fostering providers result in monopolies.
A merger between two private firms that are among the largest providers of foster placement services to councils in England, Scotland and Wales, is to be subject to an in-depth investigation by the Competitions and Markets Authority amid concerns it has created a monopoly.
