When a foster placement breaks down, a child is often moved into residential care — at roughly 6× the weekly cost. Investing in carer training and support that keeps placements stable costs a fraction of a single breakdown.
of foster placements break down (34% for adolescents)
weekly cost of a residential placement vs £661 in foster care
extra cost per year when one child escalates foster → residential
The financial case is simple: prevention is a fraction of the cost of breakdown.
per child, per year (escalation to residential)
wraparound service — per child, per year
if just one breakdown is prevented
Source: Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), University of Kent. A residential place costs roughly £182,000 more per year than a foster placement — the core of every avoidable escalation. BFCA’s wraparound service is just ~£161 per week per child — a fraction of either placement.
return on every £1 invested
for BFCA to pay for itself
of a single breakdown covers BFCA
Even if BFCA prevented only one placement breakdown across a whole cohort of carers, the investment returns many times over. Every breakdown avoided is a child who keeps their home, school and relationships — and a six-figure saving to the authority.
Foster (£661/wk) and residential (£4,153/wk) unit costs: PSSRU, University of Kent, via GOV.UK Children’s Social Care Market Study and CYP Now. Placement breakdown prevalence (26% overall; 34% adolescents): meta-analysis, Children and Youth Services Review. Placement instability (10% of looked-after children had 3+ placements in a year): GOV.UK, Children Looked After in England 2024–25. Annual escalation figure = (residential − foster weekly cost) × 52 weeks. Figures are conservative and editable.