The search is on for thousands of new foster carers to provide loving homes to children and young people who are unable to live with their own families.
The initiative is part of a package of reforms agreed to improve the way we support children in care. Josh MacAlister, who led a review of the care system in England, says that we need 9,000 new foster carers over the next three years. This represents a significant increase on the current workforce of around 77,000 carers over a short period of time. This drive to recruit creates exciting opportunities for people thinking about fostering in Greater Manchester.
What’s the thinking behind this? Well, the Care Review found that the foster care system is under great pressure. It is difficult to find the right homes for children who come into care. This can mean that children are sent to live big distances from their birth families or that brothers and sisters cannot stay together. It can also mean that young people have to live with foster families who are committed to doing their best for them but may not have the experience or skills they need.
The Care Review also recommends more support for kinship carers. These are people with a family connection to children in care, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and adult siblings. The ambition is to help more children who cannot live with their mums and dads to remain within their extended families and with people they already know. Kinship carers are like foster carers but with an existing bond with the children they are looking after.
Another recommendation is for local councils who are responsible for children in care to work more closely together. The Government has promised to make it easier for councils, particularly neighbouring authorities who already share many services and amenities, to come together to provide support for children and young people. We’re ahead of the game in Greater Manchester with all 10 local councils joining forces to create the Fostering Unfiltered campaign.
The Care Review also concluded that there are many children living in children’s homes today who would be better suited to living in a family environment with a foster carer if we had enough foster carers in the right places, with the right parenting skills to meet the varying and complex needs of children.
Taken together, these measures should have a positive impact for foster carers across Greater Manchester and, more importantly, for children in care.
Having more foster carers in the local community will strengthen existing provision. It will make it easier for social workers to find the right foster family for all children, helping them to thrive. Children in care in Greater Manchester will be able to stay closer to their birth families and other important people in their lives.
They will be able to continue attending the same school, see their friends and go to the same clubs and events after school. They can continue to be supported by people like teachers, health specialists and social workers they already know. This will strengthen existing positive relationships and help them to fulfil their potential.
Greater Manchester’s foster carers will also have an important role to play in helping children return to live with grandparents, aunts or uncles. The Care Review wants children in care to feel settled and that their views are being considered. By working together, foster carers and kinship carers can arrange a positive transition from one home to another and help children feel confident about their future.
The Care Review is ambitious about improving outcomes for children in care and hopes that fostering will play a key role. MacAlister has called for a “new deal” with foster carers. This means giving foster carers the support networks and training needed to provide the best care for children, and then having greater trust in foster carers making the day-to-day decisions which affect children’s lives.
He is optimistic the target of 9,000 new foster carers over three years can be met, however, there has been some criticism that the Review failed to address the importance of retaining existing foster carers. A survey by fostering charity, The Fostering Network, said that almost all respondents agreed that retention is equally, if not more, important than recruitment.
The overwhelming public response to the Homes for Ukraine programme is a signal of how willing people are to open their hearts and homes to others. Now there is a great opportunity for families in Greater Manchester to show how much they care.