Time to foster, time to care
Most children are likely to thrive and achieve good outcomes if they are cared for within their own families.
Shropshire Council’s children’s services work with families to give them the best possible support to care for children safely at home. Shropshire continues to have lower numbers of looked-after children than the national average, and this is in part due to edge of care support work which has been implemented to support families facing difficulties.
However, for some children and young people staying at home in family care is not possible and they need the safe and stable care provided by the local authority. Where it is in the interests of the child, social workers will work with parents or family members and make a planned return home.
For those children who are not able to return home, our aim for Shropshire children is that they achieve permanency in an alternative arrangement as soon as possible.
During any child’s time in care we want to ensure they receive solid supportive care and experience a positive home life. This is where our search for skilled, dedicated foster carers comes in. Foster carers are key in this process and make a valuable contribution to the care and planning for children’s future.
Where possible we aim for children to be cared for within their own local Shropshire communities so that they remain close to their support networks and experience stability in attending their school.
Steve Ladd, service manager for foster care in Shropshire, said:-
“It’s important for us to have a large enough roster of carers, so we can match the right child with the right family, and to provide good support and training to our carers so that we can meet their need, and in turn they can meet the needs of the children in their care. Carers can come from any background, and be couples or individuals. Income, ethnicity and gender are unimportant. It’s a person’s ability to care and support young people that matter most.”
The type of care required can vary significantly – from looking after a child with disabilities for a weekend to give a family a short respite break, through to taking a young person on until they become independent at 18. In particular, Shropshire are looking for those prepared to care for older children – aged eight and above – and also for sibling groups.
Shropshire fostering services are asking everyone thinking of making a first enquiry to “do it for the children in your community”.
Steve Ladd said:-
“There is absolutely no obligation to proceed if – at any time in the application process – prospective carers decide that it’s not right for them. They will also have plenty of opportunity to talk to other foster carers along the way to find out what to expect – the challenges as well as the rewards.
“So if you’ve ever wondered if fostering might be right for you, get in touch. You’ll never know unless you call.”
If you’re interested in fostering or want more information visit the Shropshire Fostering website.
