Why are we still keeping diaries of children in foster care?

For children who are in the care of the state, they are measured, monitored and recorded to an unfathomable degree.

A THREAD >>

I’ve commented in the past about my unease with the regular recording (in the form of daily or weekly diaries by foster parents) of children who are in foster care. I’ve described it as a form of voyeurism and often completely unnecessary.

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I would also question whether these diaries are read and acted upon? The responses to my comments have generally been at odds with my own position, with many people strongly defending the need to keep recording these diaries.

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I’ve also seen stories of adults with care experience requesting their files when they leave care and being presented with wheelbarrows full of papers to sift through with no support nor explanation. Do they really want piles of mundane commentary added to this?

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I also worry about the potential for long-term damage to the person with care experience, if a diary entry has been written insensitively and without regard for who will read them in the future.

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What I don’t understand is why we have got to the point where it is almost universally accepted and universally practiced? I’ve re-read the Fostering ‘National Minimum Standards’ and can’t find anywhere written about the need to keep diaries.

Can anyone point me to it?

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I’ve read about recording significant events (Standard 29) and recording medication (Standard 6.11), which seems reasonable to me, but nothing on daily recordings.

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Standard (26) says that we should keep records to help them better understand their lives but I’m not persuaded that these diaries really cut the mustard here.

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It does say, however, that we should ‘respect the child’s privacy and confidentiality, in a manner that is consistent with good parenting’ (Standard 3.5).

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In addition:

Article 16 of the UNCRC says that ‘every child has the right to privacy. The law should protect the child’s private, family and home life, including protecting children from unlawful attacks that harm their reputation.’

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That’s EVERY child, including those with care experience!

Why do we ignore children’s rights?

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A good starting point is to ask “who benefits from our practices?”

If it doesn’t benefit children with care experience, I see little point in doing it.

If it has the potential for harm, we should most definitely scrap it.

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