Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Child protection

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:18): (1094) My adjournment today is for the Minister for Children, and the action I seek is to end the crisis unfolding in Victoria’s foster care system, with better financial incentives for functional families and relatives, and parents indeed as well, to support children in need and support for the parents who desperately want to help and keep their kids at home. Victoria currently boasts the lowest foster carer allowance for children aged zero to seven in Australia. At this rate we are losing carers at an alarming rate and hundreds of households a year. It translates to some children under 12 being placed in impersonal group homes; in fact I have heard in my own electorate of children being placed in hotels. It includes astronomical costs, ranging from $561,246 to a staggering $1.1 million per child. Now, these are children that are in need. They are vulnerable, yet the government is focusing on wasting more money on more projects that it cannot afford.

A recent report funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing reveals the immense economic value of foster care in Victoria: a whopping $533 million in 2021–22, far exceeding current government funding. The national inflation rate is 3.6, yet Victorian foster care allowances have not been indexed since 2016. This means carers are effectively receiving a pay cut yearly, making it increasingly difficult to provide for the vulnerable children entrusted into their care and also at times meaning that very good foster carers cannot actually volunteer for the job. The system is in freefall. The figures show that our most in-need children are not experiencing the stability and love of a family environment. A 2011 figure of 37 per cent of children in out-of-home care being placed in foster care plummeted to a mere 18 per cent in 2020. Children are missing out on a crucial element of their development.

Foster carers in Victoria have repeatedly called on the government to help. They have even provided petitions to the Department of Treasury and Finance as well as the minister, but nothing has happened to fix the problem. The Victorian government must (1) index foster carer allowances to inflation to ensure they can afford to care for children properly, (2) invest in recruitment and retention programs to attract and keep dedicated carers and (3) prioritise foster care as a cost-effective and nurturing solution for vulnerable children. The government must act with urgency to ensure every child in Victoria has a safe and loving home environment. Our most vulnerable children are being impacted through the failure of the Allan Labor government’s ability to manage our finances effectively.