‘Permanent’ Care: Is the Story in the Data?

Planning for ‘permanency’ or a ‘family for life’ has been an aspiration for many children in the out-of-home care system who are unable to return to live with their parents. It is a concept derived from research, which indicates that children who ‘drift in care’ have generally poorer outcomes than those who find at least a more stable, if not ‘permanent’, home. This article examines the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] data that reports publicly on child protection and children in out-of-home care to find evidence about how Australian children in out-of-home care are faring against this dimension of the care experience. Little can be said on the basis of this data. The article is written as a ‘think piece’ to raise questions about why, if such a dimension of the care experience is considered important for a significant group of children, the data is so opaque.