Lauren Novak: The soaring cost of care is exacerbated by a shortage of willing foster families

The shortage of foster families has become the subject of many confronting stories, yet, as Lauren Novak observes, it’s no good for the kids, or taxpayers, to just keep throwing money at the problem.

It’s long been a sure bet in South Australia that each State Budget will feature fee hikes, a big building project and a blowout in health spending.

More recently, Treasurer Rob Lucas has called in external money minders to slowly sort out the Health Department bottom line — but there appears to be another, albeit smaller, agency following suit.

When the 2019-20 Budget was released on Tuesday, no journalist would have been surprised to see the Child Protection Department again needing extra cash to keep up with the rising number of children taken into state care.

Mr Lucas has had to throw the agency an extra $27 million across the next three years to meet projected demand.

That is on top of $23.6 million needed in 2017-18 and $7.3 million more for this financial year, past Budget papers show.

Figures published online by the Child Protection Department plot a steady increase in the number of young people removed from unsafe parents each year, to be placed with foster families, relatives or paid carers. At the end of April there were 3921 — up from 2631 children five years ago.

Each month between 40 and 80 children enter care for the first time — but few are exiting the system. That only happens if they turn 18 or if biological parents can address issues making homes unsafe, such as addiction or violence.

The soaring cost of care is exacerbated by a shortage of willing foster families because the department pays about $50,000 a year to a foster carer, compared to about $500,000 for state-run or emergency housing if there is no available foster home.

The Advertiser has requested the latest data on carers entering the system, as well as how many are giving up, each year — but we’re still waiting for a response.

The number of children reunited with their parents annually is also hard to come by.

The department insists it is doing everything it can to attract new foster carers but this can only pass for so long without evidence of improvement.

I asked the Treasurer during his Budget press conference if he had a hard deadline for his colleague Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson to put a lid on her burgeoning budget.

“Yes, there is a target,” he said, suggesting he would be reluctant to stump up more cash after the current lifeline runs out mid-2022. But he stopped short of warning he would turn the tap off completely. It’s as hard to do that in the face of at-risk children as it is sick hospital patients.

Ms Sanderson says they’re making progress behind the scenes to attract more carers and she’s right when she argues this is not a new problem. But that in itself is the problem.

It’s no good for kids, or the taxpayer, to just keep throwing money at the problem.