There’s a Panorama programme on BBC1 tonight called ‘The Truth About Adoption’. In a news item about the show http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9661000/9661713.stm the makers claim that children in care tend to go into multiple foster placements prior adoption. They state the average term is for ten months. So if a child was in foster care for 5 years on average they would have 6 different placements over that period.
Many of those we support have experienced life in the care system and usually as they have been quite problematic as children they will have experiences of more than the average number of placements. From rough starts to feeling like they are being pushed from pillar to post leaves people feeling that nobody cares about them… and when they stop caring about themselves is when they are in real danger of falling into problematic behaviour.