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‘Permanent’ Care: Is the Story in the Data?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2012

Cathy Humphreys
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Abstract

Planning for ‘permanency’ or a ‘family for life’ has been an aspiration for many children in the out-of-home care system who are unable to return to live with their parents. It is a concept derived from research, which indicates that children who ‘drift in care’ have generally poorer outcomes than those who find at least a more stable, if not ‘permanent’, home. This article examines the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] data that reports publicly on child protection and children in out-of-home care to find evidence about how Australian children in out-of-home care are faring against this dimension of the care experience. Little can be said on the basis of this data. The article is written as a ‘think piece’ to raise questions about why, if such a dimension of the care experience is considered important for a significant group of children, the data is so opaque.

Keywords

permanent careadoptionguardianshipfoster care
Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 4 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

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