In plain language
Across many developed nations, the number of children needing a foster home is rising while the number of adults willing to foster is falling, a mismatch the authors describe as a foster care crisis. Most research on foster carers focuses on why people choose to foster. This study flipped the question around and asked why people do not, on the logic that understanding the barriers is the key to attracting more carers.
Drawing on a 2009 survey of 756 Australians, the researchers used a data-driven "segmentation" analysis, the same kind of market-research technique businesses use to group customers, to sort potential carers by the particular combination of barriers holding them back. This produced four distinct segments, each with its own profile of reasons and its own social and demographic makeup.
The four groups were the "Mums and Dads" (too busy with their own children), the "Not interested" (worried about having to return a child or not coping), the "Couldn't cope" (feeling unable to manage the role and not especially drawn to children), and, strikingly, the "Never been asked". Almost a third of respondents said they had simply never considered fostering because no one had ever asked them. The practical message is that recruitment campaigns should be tailored to each segment, and that a direct invitation could unlock a large pool of willing carers.
Key findings
- Segmentation analysis of 756 Australians identified four distinct groups of potential foster carers, each defined by a different combination of barriers.
- Almost one-third of respondents said they had never considered fostering simply because no one had ever asked them.
- The four segments were labelled "Mums and Dads", "Not interested", "Couldn't cope", and "Never been asked".
- Age, education, and personal income distinguished the segments: the "Never been asked" group was older with higher income, while the "Couldn't cope" group was more highly educated.
- The authors argue that generic recruitment is inefficient and that marketing tailored to each segment's specific barriers is required.
- A simple, direct invitation to foster could tap a substantial, previously overlooked pool of willing carers.
How to cite
APA
Randle, M., Miller, L., Dolnicar, S., & Ciarrochi, J. (2014). The science of attracting foster carers. Child & Family Social Work, 19(1), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00881.x
BibTeX
@article{randle2014science,
title = {The science of attracting foster carers},
author = {Randle, Melanie and Miller, Leonie and Dolnicar, Sara and Ciarrochi, Joseph},
journal = {Child \& Family Social Work},
volume = {19},
number = {1},
pages = {65--75},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00881.x}
}
Related work
- All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
- Process-Based Therapy & Idionomic Analysis
Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.