Foster Care Matters – for children, not profit

A recent report stated that just three private equity firms running foster care agencies have made a combined £40 million in profit in 2024. Reports also show that some of England's biggest privately-run children's homes have made more than £95 million in profit in the past three years too.  

At the same time, the number of foster parents has shrunk to its lowest in a decade. Latest figures from Ofsted show there were 42,615 fostering households in England, compared to 45,370 in 2021. A total of 4,055 fostering households were approved during the year (April 23 to March 24) while 4,820 stopped fostering - an overall loss of 765 fostering households.

The Fostering Network has estimated that a further 6,500 fostering families are needed in England to ensure all fostered children can live with the right family for them. 

With growing numbers of children coming into care and more foster carers leaving, this means sibling groups are more likely to be split up, children are placed far away from their local communities and there aren’t enough specialist foster carers to care for children with additional needs.

Foster Care Matters, Registered Fostering Manager, Karen Palfreyman commented: “At the height of the foster care sector recruitment crisis, which deepened during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a children’s charity with children’s needs at their heart, Adoption Matters wanted to be an organisation that stepped in to help the foster care crisis. After years of research and planning, Foster Care Matters was launched in Spring 2024. As not-for-profit fostering charity, we are committed to re-invest back into our service to offer quality support and ongoing training to our foster families, to enable them to help children really matter.

"We offer a therapeutic approach and dedicated support, ongoing training to our foster parents”.

Foster Care Matters host regular online information events and events in the community, to find out more visit: fostercarematters.org.uk