The shortage of foster carers in the UK is a crisis leading to more children entering care homes, with three quarters of adults expressing concern about the lack of available homes. Despite this, only seven percent are open to the idea of adopting a child in the next ten years.
Barnados highlights that experienced foster carers are retiring at a rapid rate while fewer people are signing up to take their place. This decline has been exacerbated by the pandemic and rising living costs, severely affecting child welfare.
Many councils are reportedly paying over 10,000 per week per child for residential care placements, reflecting the pressing need for more foster families to prevent excessive reliance on costly care homes.
There's been a notable drop in applications to be a foster carer, with only about 8,000 prospective families applying in the 2022/23 financial year, an 18 percent decline since the 2018/19 period.
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