A Jersey charity has warned it could struggle to continue supporting vulnerable families without long-term government funding, as the cost of children’s care continues to soar.
Brighter Futures chief executive Fiona Brennan said that the sharp increase in residential care costs demonstrated the urgent need to invest in preventative services rather than crisis interventions.
It comes after Express revealed that spending on children’s residential care has nearly doubled in five years, reaching £10.7 million in 2025, while the overall Children’s Services budget has also grown significantly – from £23 million in 2020 to £33.6 million in 2025.
Mrs Brennan pointed to research commissioned by the Jersey Community Foundation, which she said “clearly evidences that Brighter Futures saves Jersey money”.
She argued that earlier intervention could reduce the need for costly specialist placements, particularly as the number of children being sent off-island – often for highly specialised care – has begun to rise, even though the government cannot provide a full breakdown of the associated costs.
“We believe that we should be commissioned to continue to offer the service that we do, providing early intervention to help to provide support for families when they need the support – not when crisis hits,” she said.
“It is just so sad for families, children and young people who are going through such tough times, when early intervention may have altered the path for a family and may possibly have helped them to cope better with life’s challenges.”
“We would have folded many years ago without donors… because government funding has been so little”
Brighter Futures works with referrals from a range of agencies, including health visitors, midwives, schools, social workers and Children’s Services itself, supporting families before problems escalate.
Mrs Brennan warned that without a more secure financial footing, the charity’s ability to continue that work could be at risk.
“Brighter Futures would have folded many years ago if we didn’t have a wide number of private and corporate donors on the island, because government funding has been so little,” she said.
“This year we have 8.7% from the government, and it will cost us over £1 million to offer our services for families in Jersey for free.”
An “effective crisis” in bed availability
She added that a longer-term commissioning model would allow the charity to expand its impact.
“If [the government] could give us a commissioning model for three years, and a reasonable amount of financial support, we can continue to grow our services and offer social and economic value to Jersey for years to come,” said Mrs Brennan.
Her intervention comes amid wider concern about pressures within the care system.
Almost £12 million has recently been earmarked for new and improved residential facilities, and a new children’s home opened in St Helier last year following what was described as an “effective crisis” in bed availability.
