Get in the frame to support vulnerable children this Foster Care Fortnight

To mark the start of Foster Care Fortnight, Shropshire Council’s children’s placement service will be offering information and advice about fostering at The Guildhall in Shrewsbury on Wednesday 15 May 2013 and Wednesday 22 May 2013 from 10am to 4pm.   

Foster Care Fortnight is the UK’s biggest foster carer recruitment campaign.  Led by Fostering Network, its aim is to raise the profile of fostering and encourage more people to come forward and support a child in a time of need.  This year’s theme is ‘get in the frame’ and will take place from Monday 13 May to Sunday 26 May 2013.

With an increase of children coming into care, and the need to recruit around 20 or more foster carers in Shropshire, the children’s placement service is asking residents to get in the frame and consider becoming a foster carer.

The children’s placement service will be on hand each Wednesday throughout the Foster Care Fortnight to raise the profile and highlight the important role of foster carers and encourage residents to ‘get in the frame’ and explore further how they can get into fostering.

Foster carers are needed in Shropshire for children of all ages of all ages; from babies, toddlers and teenagers, to children with special needs.  It’s not just individual children, often there are brothers and sisters in need of foster places where they can stay together – helping to support each other.  A shortage of foster carers means some children have to live too far from family and friends, change school and be split up from brothers and sisters.  More foster families would mean more children could live with the right foster carer, first time, and not be moved around the care system.

Jackie Parker, children’s placement service manager, said:

“Foster carers form a vital part of our support for children within the county, many of which will have experienced a domestic crisis, possibly violence, abuse, illness, neglect, drink or drugs.  This is where the care and support of a foster carer is vital: someone who can provide a safe and caring environment at a time when a child needs stability and continuity while difficulties are addressed.

“There are more children in Shropshire needing such care than five years ago, and that means we need more people to come forward to provide a caring and stable environment at a time of need in a young person’s life.”

Chris Dennison, service manager for children’s placement and joint adoption services, added:

“We require foster carers for a range of children needing care, from short term placements which can be just a few days or weeks, to long term placements until they can return to their birth family.  Every child’s situation is different, but the care and love they need is always the same.  A foster carer can make all the difference in supporting a child, caring for them or just being there.

“I would really urge people to come forward and drop in at our events at The Guildhall in Shrewsbury to help make a difference and create a better future for Shropshire’s most vulnerable children.

“We provide plenty of training beforehand and lots of support after they begin – as well as financial support.”

Every year around five per cent of foster carers leave the service due to retirement or to pursue other avenues of work, and so there is a constant need to recruit new foster carers. Together with a rise in the number of children coming into care, this means we are calling on the people of Shropshire to come forward and see if they can foster.

Foster carers come from all backgrounds, whether they have children or not.  Potentially anyone over 21 can foster.  You can be married, single or in a same sex relationship.  You can be working or unemployed.  What is important is that you have the room in your house and time to provide a family life for a child or young person during a time of possible crisis.

If you think you could offer a child a home, come and visit us at The Guildhall in Shrewsbury on 15 and 22 May or contact the team now on our Freephone 0800 783 8798 any time between 9am and 5.30 pm (if out of hours, leave a message on our answerphone) – we would be delighted to hear from you.  Or visit our website at shropshire.gov.uk/fostering.

To find out more about what it’s like to foster a child, a film on the life as a foster carer, featuring other foster carers from around the county, is available on You Tube here.

Learn more about the national campaign by visiting http://www.fostering.net/foster-care-fortnight.

Further information

This year Fostering Network are inviting people to get in the frame to raise the profile of fostering during Foster Care Fortnight™ 2013.

Fostering Network will be putting celebrities and politicians in our picture frame for the UK’s biggest foster carer recruitment campaign to highlight the need for around 9,000 new carers across the UK to provide loving and supportive homes for some of our most vulnerable children.

Placing fostering services, care leavers, foster carers and their sons and daughters as well as prospective foster carers in the frame, will demonstrate what it takes to be a foster carer and encourage others to start their journey to becoming one.