Spending on foster care has spiralled as Dundee’s need for new carers has deepened, it has emerged.
A year-long campaign to attract new city families willing to offer a home to some of the city’s most vulnerable youngsters has only gone so far.
With an increasing number of children and young people needing assistance, Dundee City Council’s Social Work department has been forced to spend ever larger sums on agency-led care.
Using outside fostering agencies can cost up to five times as much as relying upon carers on Dundee City Council’s own list, with the average cost of an in-house foster carer around £300 per week, while external placements can cost between £660 and £1,500.
Figures for the year to September 2015 show that the service has been forced into a £600,000 overspend on fostering and accommodation for youngsters who can no longer remain in their homes.
That “unsustainable” spending has put pressure on already stretched social work budgets at a time when the city can ill afford excess costs in any area.
Social work and health committee convener Ken Lynn said the city was “constantly striving” to increase the number of foster carers it can call upon.
The recruitment of foster carers, particularly those able to offer permanent placements, has long been a priority for the local authority.
Dundee City Council was yesterday unable to say just how many young people it needs to provide fostering services for.
As the number of children and young people requiring both temporary and permanent fostering has continued to grow, however, it has been forced to become ever more creative in its efforts to attract people.
In September 2014, Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross councils jointly developed and launched a television campaign to recruit permanent families.
It reveals that there remains an “urgent” need for additional carers, particularly for 5-15 year olds, groups of brothers and sisters, and children/young people with additional needs.
The “Change Their Lives” campaign was linked to a dedicated webpage and inquiry phone line and a programme of events that continues to raise awareness of the need for temporary and specialist foster carers.
Charities such as Barnardo’s Scotland have also urged Dundonians to come forward and become a foster carer in recent months.
The charity said: “Loving foster care is crucial to giving vulnerable children the happy home they so desperately need and deserve.”
Visit www.changetheirlives.co.uk for more information about becoming a foster carer in Tayside.