Events and News
Foster care campaign brings rewards
Foster care organisers in Staffordshire are reporting a bumper crop of new enquiries following a recent county-wide publicity campaign.
Last month, Staffordshire County Council’s Family Placement Recruitment and Training team, saw a sharp rise in enquirers after the new billboard posters appeared. Several newspapers and radio stations also reported about local youngsters in foster care. The team is hopeful that this will help tackle the present shortfall of foster placements and get more children out of residential homes and into real families. "We launched a new poster campaign in May and many local people also read or heard about foster care in the media. It seems this has had a very positive effect on recruitment.”
"The latest monthly figures for July show over 100 new enquiries from prospective carers – more than four times the average” said Elaine Price, from the Fostering Service (Council’s Children & Lifelong Learning Directorate). "Inevitably, not all will ultimately progress to fostering but we would certainly expect to gain a substantial number of new placements as a result.
Councillor Robert Simpson added: "We are grateful to all the local people who have come forward to enquire about foster caring. Throughout Britain there is a shortage of placements for young people in need of homes, and Staffordshire is no exception.
"Our family placement team will now be working with all the new applicants and there is a rigorous programme of training and approval for everyone to go through. Of course, not all people eventually decide to go through with it, but until we talk to them, we will never know.”
Who can Foster?
• You do not need any formal qualifications to become a foster carer. However, you do need skills and experience that will enable you to meet the needs of the children and young people you care for. As well as having the time and energy to give, there are various personal qualities you will need. This will be discussed with you should you decide to apply.
• There is no set ‘type’ of foster parent. We need to recruit a variety of carers to offer as much choice as possible to children and young people. You can apply to foster regardless of your marital status or sexuality.
• Foster carers come from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds - reflecting the children and young people who are in the public care system. Likewise you don’t have to be well off or live in a big house. Foster carers come from all walks of life.
• There is no fixed age limit to fostering. Mature couples or individuals can make ideal foster carers. They may have had families of their own and still have the ability and desire to look after a young person.
To find out more about foster care, or to have an exploratory chat, call the County Council’s family placement service on Free phone 0800 169 2061.
Staffordshire Family Placement pick up an accolade....
...for the 'Most effective workforce Development programme in support of the Foster care/Social Worker Relationship'
Nifty Fifties
Over 50, enjoy working with children, have you considered fostering?
Staffordshire's Nifty fifties campaign aims to recruit more mature foster carers who can draw on their experience.
Click here for the BBC article
New Adoption Law January 2006:
The new Adoption Act will come into force on the 30th December please follow the following link to find more information.
Click here to find out more
