Currently around 3,400 families foster for their local authority in the North West but there is a continued need for more people to come forward particularly those who can care for teenagers, sibling groups and children with additional needs.
You Can Foster is a regional recruitment project funded by 23 North West local authorities.
Charlotte Ramsden, Strategic Director of Children and Adults Services Salford Council, representing You Can Foster, said: “We have a need in the North West for more people to come forward and enquire about being a foster carer.
Some people might think that they might not be suitable to become a foster carer, perhaps because they’re in a same-sex relationship, are unmarried or single but we don’t want anyone to rule themselves out. If you’ve got a spare room and the enthusiasm to support a child or young person we’d like to hear from you.”
Alex and his partner Kenny are long-term foster carers for a 16-year-old with severe learning disabilities:
“After talking about fostering on many occasion we were in our local pub one Friday evening after a stressful week at work and decided to just stop talking about the idea and make the enquiry. We got a call on the Monday and two days later met with a social worker for an initial chat, which went really well. Following this we started on a Skills To Foster training course, which took place over 6 weeks, one evening a week. The course really helps you to explore the world of fostering and enables you to discover if fostering is right for you.
Our relationship has never been stronger and our quality of life has improved beyond our expectations, all while we get to give our wonderful foster son an amazing childhood, and to help him to realise his dreams.
I’d tell people who were considering fostering to not be afraid to make an initial enquiry. We didn’t have any childcare experience and I’d no work experience with children either so you shouldn’t let that put you off. You’re not tied in and the process of making an enquiry will help you learn more about fostering and make the right decision for you. If I’d known what I know now I’d have made an enquiry sooner.”
Recruitment priorities for the region include places for:
♦ Brothers and sisters – including sibling groups of 3 or more children/young people.
♦ Older children/young people – over half of all Looked After Children are 10 or older.
♦ Children from BME communities, in particular black children and increasingly those from new migrant communities.
♦ Long term – where children and young people are not be able to live with their own families for a number of years, if at all. Children and young people stay in a family where they feel secure, while maintaining contact with their birth family.
♦ Children with complex/additional needs including behaviour that challenges – this is an identified priority for a number of Local Authorities including the need for ‘short break’ carers (carers providing a variety of different types of part-time care. Stays for anything from a few hours each week to a couple of weekends each month, giving their own family or their full-time foster carers a break.)
For more information on fostering or to make an enquiry about becoming a foster carer, click here: