North West needs more older foster carers
By Tony Watts - Editor - 02/06/2008
In England, more than 60,000 children are ‘looked after’ - almost two-thirds of whom are aged 5 to 15 years - and half have experienced abuse and neglect. Yet there is a shortage of at least 8,200 foster families, and the North West alone accounts for over 20% of that total.
This significant regional shortfall has prompted Perpetual Fostering - an independent fostering agency (IFA) - to mount a major recruitment campaign aimed at enrolling at least 50 new foster carers this year and 500 over the longer term.
Perpetual Fostering was formed in 2005 to support young people whose needs could not be met in its residential care homes, and it assists local authorities in placing youngsters aged 0-18 years in foster care, offering short, medium and long term placements.
Founder and CEO, Tahir Khan said: “We are currently inundated with fostering referral requests from local authorities across the North West and we don’t have a wide enough pool of carers to cope. We really need good, safe homes and people with sound parenting skills to help remove these disadvantaged young people from bad situations.”
A recent report on fostering and children’s homes has suggested that demand for foster placements is expected to continue growing to 2010, and that IFAs like Perpetual Fostering are often able to deliver better support for foster carers than local authorities - helped by a higher ratio of Supervising Social Workers to carers.
They also typically pay higher salaries to carers. At Perpetual Fostering, the basic weekly allowance is £375 per child, compared to the recommended national minimum of £131 for 5-10 year olds and £163 for 11-15 years. While financial reward is not uppermost in the minds of prospective foster families, higher payments will often compensate for possibly giving up a full or part time job.
So what makes a good foster carer? According to Tahir, someone with empathy and nurturing for disadvantaged youngsters that have experienced rejection, who can provide a secure and stable home environment, and preferably have child care experience - although some successful carers never had children of their own. Tahir believes that ‘Empty nesters’ - those whose own children have left home - are especially ideal candidates.
There are no upper age limits to fostering, and it doesn’t matter whether the prospective carer is married or divorced, single or co-habiting. Equally, race, religion or sexuality do not affect the application, although some criminal convictions may prevent approval.
“Naturally, there are forms to fill in, checks to be carried out and the whole process usually takes several months. But this is a critical procedure and you would expect us to be painstaking in our approach, so as to select appropriate carers and match them with the right youngsters,” adds Tahir. “This shouldn’t deter prospective carers, though, because we support them and their significant others throughout the assessment process and provide the necessary skills training that can even lead to professional qualification. Plus there is always the option to opt out if circumstances alter or there’s simply a change of heart.
“Fostering is crucial to the social health of our region and the future of many of our disadvantaged young people, so we welcome those who are prepared to consider this challenging and rewarding role.”
Prospective carers should apply initially to Perpetual Fostering, 31 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR, tel 01204 364 666, email: info@perpetualfostering.co.uk