Editorial

There is a minimum shortage of 5,000 foster carers in the UK today and in order to keep the fostering service buoyant, that figure needs to be doubled.
Fostering is about caring for a child in your own home. For a whole variety of reasons there are around 39,000 children (in England) who are placed with foster carers by Social Services. Many of these children will eventually return to their families. In some cases this may take a matter of days or weeks in others it may take much longer.
Since the start of operating in 2008, the independent web site Simply Fostering has found plenty of evidence to conclude that "the best recruiters of successful foster carers are foster carers themselves".

This is not news however, it was found that although some fostering providers pay a finders fee, foster carers are seen as people who are a small part of an agency's marketing campaign when in many circumstances they should if not be driving it, at least central players.

Simply Fostering found fostering families are both passive and active recruiters. Just being foster carers creates a doorway to fostering for people interested in looking after children and a positive presence in communities who's most often comments are "I don't know how you do it" or "I would like to give it a try but I'm not sure....the kids are all trouble aren't they?"

Foster carers are almost always reported by foster carers as the people they found most useful and memorable if they had contact with them during their assessment process or on pre approval training courses.

Obviously there are dissatisfied foster carers out there who are probably putting people off from fostering however there are more who are enthusiastic, committed and love what they do and it's these foster carers who have the potential to increase foster carer numbers by being active recruiters.

Simplyfostering believe that agencies should look much closer at enlisting foster carers who often have extremely relevant skills within their family and network. Foster carers are not only foster carers but people who often have lifetimes of professional experience relative to marketing or relevant transferable skills.

Foster carers who are interested in getting involved in the recruitment of foster carers for a few hours a week should be provided with basic marketing training, financial support and the space to develop their ideas and interests. Fostering providers spend huge amounts of money on their recruitment campaigns and almost all have little to show for it.

As part of the recruiter role foster carers should be encouraged to develop the contacts they have in their communities such as with their schools, hospitals, clubs and employments. Foster carers themselves have the potential to identify barriers to recruiting and through their contact with other carers, help to retain fostering families.
As someone involved in fostering, I know that fostering providers see foster carers as 'foster carers first' and not as the individual they are who has a great deal more to offer. This is blinkered thinking and completely misses the fostering agency’s best recruitment resource – foster carers themselves.

It is of paramount importance to choose the right fostering agency, there are over seven hundred in the UK. Simply Fostering, the UK national foster carer recruitment website provides help by answering questions and identifying the most suitable local fostering agencies with vacancies.

Simply Fostering help people interested in becoming foster carers to act on the Government's advice to 'contact more than one Fostering Agency if you are interested in a fostering career'.

A foster carers perspective - Joelle has fostered eleven children

Deciding to be a foster carer seven years ago turned out to be more work than I expected but on the other hand, the most rewarding thing I have done other than get married and have my own children. Fostering is for the children and I do it for the right reasons, to keep them safe for themselves and their families. It's often hard to let go but it's great seeing a family coming together and that makes giving them back much easier.

Not only me but my kids have benefited from being part of fostering. Through the difficult times, especially when their things got 'borrowed' by foster children, my kids were helped by the thought that they will never have to leave their family and that there is someone out there in a worse position than they are. There were times though when they were glad when certain children were moving on!

Every child I looked after had experienced loss and grief and all of them had mixed emotions about not living with their parents.

Children need someone they an trust to start feeling better and usually contact with their family, being a foster carer means you need to help children keep in contact.
I haven't met a foster child who wasn't confused and angry about being put in foster care and when you talk to them they are either angry at themselves believing they are to blame, or angry at their parents for letting them down.

If you are thinking about fostering remember that children need to feel really part of your life and the things you and your family do. Never lie to them or keep bad secrets and never moan about their family or their social worker - be positive, be honest and always aware that you have the privilege to really make a massive difference for the better in children's lives!

For comprehensive and easy to understand information, help and advice, contact Annette or Joe at Simply Fostering.

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