The precarious state of residential child care in Australia

The decline in the use in Australia of residential programs for children and youth as a form of out-of-home care is detailed in this article. The historical and contemporary influences on this decline are also noted. Comment is then made about supported accommodation assistance programs for homeless youth that have emerged as an alternative form of service. These programs cater for youth who, in an earlier era, would have been in out-of-home placements under the auspices of child welfare agencies. The complete absence of appropriate education and training programs for personnel who are recruited to work in these programs and other small community based facilities that are superseding residential programs is then discussed. The negative contribution of Australian Schools of Social Work to the debate about the place of residential programs in a mature child welfare system is also mentioned.