Fostering needs you.
There is a crisis in fostering. There is no way to sugar
coat it.
More and more children are coming into care than ever
before, including higher number of asylum seeking children, whilst the number
of carers is steadily declining.
According to the Fostering Network, in England there are
around 43,500 fostering households, but about 7,000 more are needed to meet
demand.
Without fostering families children can end up in group
homes, or for older teens – shared flat style accommodation – and even places
like caravans have been used by some local authorities.
Children brought into care have already had a difficult
start. They really deserve to have a new home to live in.
I full realise not everyone interested in becoming a foster
carer can do so, however if you have a spare room, please consider it.
So what can you do to help?
FOSTER
There are lots of options – including the below.
Respite carer – this is where you give another carer or a
family a break by looking after their child for usually 1-7 nights, often just
1-2. This can be one off or regular. This is perfect if you have a spare room
but not much spare time – for example you might have two spare weekends a
month, or one whole week per month.
Short term care – this is full time but where you look after
children generally for one week up to two years. Quite often whilst their court
cases are being decided, or where efforts for reunification are under way.
After they live with you they’ll either go home to a parent or guardian or move
onto a long term carer. This might work for you if you can commit to full time
care, but cannot commit as many years as some others.
Long term care – this is full time care where a child lives
with you up to the age of 16, 18 or perhaps even longer. So it is a long term
commitment. It works for many who want to give a child a long term stable home.
Emergency placement care – a bit like respite carers in that
you generally look after children for very few nights, but you’re also ‘on
call’ and expected to take children at short notice. This can work for you have
a spare room and are flexible/adaptable.
Mother or father and baby care – this is where you look
after both the parent and the child in the hope that the parent learns the
right skills to later independently look after their child. You do not make the
final decision but your observations and experiences will help determine if the
parent and child will stay together.
You can also ‘mix and match’ the above if you have more than
one room. Eg you can look after one child long term whilst offering respite with
another room. You have to see what works for you.
Also you can specify the age range and gender of the
children you want to look after if you want to. Eg teen girls, children 0-10,
boys 5-18 etc.
What I really mean with the above is there are many different
types of fostering and if you have a spare room, it is about seeing what works
for you.
However..
ADVOCATES / VISITORS
If you do not have the spare room but are really interested
in helping children in care consider becoming an Independent Visitor. This is
someone who takes a child out regularly and becomes an extra friendly face for
them. Doing so benefits the child but can also help stabilise their foster home
situation too.
Reconstruct have roles for independent visitors for the
Bristol area. Consider getting in touch with them. You need to commit about
3hrs per month.
The National Youth Advocacy Service are also looking for
volunteers.
SUPPORT FOSTERING FAMILIES
Fostering can be a really lonely, tiring thing. It is also
costly to do in some senses. You do get an allowance but it doesn’t stretch
far, or at least as far as you might hope.
In particular taking children out can be expensive –
if you look after younger children you might only get around £22 per day, so
trips out can be more expensive than your allowance. If you or someone you know
runs a leisure activity or business, consider offering a discount to foster
carers. They will become your new best customer!
If you know a fostering family, consider giving them a hand
if you can. Some things can seem small but may really help. Things like:
Taking their kid/kids out to the park with yours one
afternoon
Lending a hand with the food shop
Offering to attend appointments or trips out with them
especially for single carers. – Whilst for confidentiality reasons you may not
be able to go inside for appointments, just sitting in the waiting room and
doing the journey with the carer and kids can be a huge help
Coming over and playing with their kids so they can have
time to catch up on other things.
Babysitting – if this is appropriate for the foster child –
to give the carer a night out or to themselves
Being a second pair of hands and/or witness for difficult
situations
Picking their child up from school one afternoon a week to
give the carer just a little more time to themselves
Helping with cleaning, gardening, DIY etc.
And listening. The carer won’t be able to share details but
you can certainly listen to how they’re feeling.
Oh and hugs. Everyone needs a hug once in a while.
--
The long and the short of it is, if you can foster, step up.
If you can’t but want to help a foster child directly, volunteer, if you can’t
do that for whatever reason, help support a carer. The more we do to support
kids in care, the better it is for the kids themselves, and the stronger our
city becomes.
I mean how can it be fair to the kids that we have to send
some over a hundred miles away because Bristol itself doesn’t have enough
carers?
All the best, BF
NB Bristol Fostering is a personal blog and not affiliated with any fostering agency. The author just happens to be a foster carer in Bristol, UK
We do recommend Bristol Council though as they're fab. Bristol Council fostering enquiry form
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