Despite increasing government spending on programs meant to prevent child abuse and entries into care, record numbers of children are currently in Out of Home Care (OOHC) in Australia, and this is the most expensive part of the child welfare system.
However, the commonsense assumption that admissions and costs will fall by investing in 'prevention' is wrong. The number of children in care and the cost of care have continued to grow because the strategic direction taken by state governments is misconceived.
Counter-intuitively and paradoxically, placement prevention programs that prolong the time vulnerable children spend in the custody of dysfunctional parents are flawed in terms of child safety and a false economy in terms of public expenditure. The family preservation-based approach to child protection (which is already standard policy and practice in all jurisdictions) is the primary cause of the pressure on 'out of home' care.
Jeremy Sammut is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies. Read his report.