Recruitment of carers for children in substitute care a planning framework and research questions for the Australian context

Abstract

The increased emphasis on foster care in child welfare depends upon successful recruitment of foster carers. For workers concerned with recruitment of foster carers, this article provides a planning framework and raises research questions based on an overview of the relevant literature. Four points to consider when planning foster care recruitment are suggested: goals, means of recruitment, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. As there are few published Australian studies evaluating recruitment, overseas studies are surveyed. Currently recruitment is a slow, time-consuming, and costly process where there are often high rates of dropout. Multiple means are used in recruitment including photolisting, advertising and personal contact, and in particular the mass media has been noted as successful. Besides involving issues of efficiency and organisation, ethical issues are involved especially in means of recruitment such as personalised media recruitment. It is essential that evaluation be incorporated into the recruitment process. Only through evaluation can the success of the recruitment process be measured and future recruitment planned effectively. Through individual agencies' monitoring and description of recruitment efforts, information will be provided on the effectiveness of different means of recruitment. Evaluation leading to increased understanding of the process of how people come to foster children should lead to the most efficient use of resources, allowing more placements to be available for children requiring care.