The incredible and selfless work of foster carers in Victoria is being taken for granted by the Allan Labor Government as the tragic consequences of its failures devastate our most vulnerable young Victorians.
Children, who should be placed in a loving foster care home, are instead being placed into residential care, or contingency placements, as unsupported foster carers leave the system.
The Foster Care Association of Victoria's recentCarer Snapshot report confirms the number of foster carers in Victoria has been in steady decline since 2020, with the number of households completing accreditation also decreasing.
Furthermore,Victoria's Care Allowance has not increased since 2016 and is the lowest in Australia. The increasing financial pressure placed on carers means many simply can no longer afford to continue to open their homes.
It comes as the child protection system is in crisis, with a shocking number of children and young people in residential care homes suffering sexual exploitation, abuse and falling into criminality.
During questioning in Public Accounts and Estimates hearings in May, it was revealed there have been 215 incident reportsof sexual abuse of children in residential care during the year to date. The Children's Commissioner has said that predators know where these children live.
A Victorian Legal Aid analysis found that after two years in residential care, every second child was charged with an offence.
According to areport from the Commission for Children and Young People, children in out-of-home care are substantially less likely to attend school and receive an education and are consistentlyabsent, in fear for their safety.
Shadow Minister for Child Protection, Roma Britnell, said: "It is shameful the damage the Allan Labor Government is doing to our most vulnerable children.
"There is an immediate avenue to help these children and the government is ignoring them. They don't even have a foster carer recruitment strategy.
"The tragic consequences of this government failure are devastating for vulnerableyoung lives."
