Foster Care Fortnight Set To Launch Search For ‘The Face Of Fostering’

Leading charity, the Fostering Network is to launch a major national campaign on Monday 14 May to call on the general public to consider becoming a foster carer.

Ten thousand more foster carers are needed to provide homes to some of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people and Foster Care Fortnight will be asking the nation to think about helping to fill this gap.

To help find these urgently needed families, this year’s campaign, running from 14 to 27 May, will be asking everyone whatever their current situation or profession a simple question: Are you the face of foster care?

The current shortage of foster carers means many children are unnecessarily moved from home to home, far from friends and family and are separated from siblings. The Fostering Network says this situation can only be improved by more people stepping forward to take on the challenge of foster care.

While lots of people have heard of fostering, most do not realise that they may be suitable. Today there are many different types of fostering, from short-term placements that require one weekend a month to others that last for many years. Some specialise in fostering disabled children, while others care for teenagers or even young mothers and their babies. As a result, a wide range of different people are needed to perform this vital role.

Presenter Gabby Logan, who is supporting Foster Care Fortnight, says: “I think that fostering children is a wonderful thing to do. Having two babies of my own, I appreciate more than ever how demanding the job of parenting can be. I am in awe of anyone who lends their home, love and support to children who are in need of a bit of extra special care. I am sure the relationship can be rewarding for everyone and I hope that one day we might be in a position to do something for somebody in our family.”

To illustrate the diversity of those who foster, 27 faces of foster care have been selected from around the UK to tell their stories and to appear in a specially commissioned exhibition, which will tour the UK during Foster Care Fortnight. The faces of foster care reflect the diverse range of ages, skills and backgrounds that are needed to care for the equally diverse 70,000 children in care on any given day in the UK.

Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, says: “There are many different types of foster care, and one of the aims of this campaign is to let people know that. Some foster full-time and others combine fostering with a job outside the home. As long as you have the space, time and commitment, there is a type of foster care out there to suit you.”

Face of foster care participant, Sharon Okin who also works as a nutritionist says: ”Often children come to us from such deprived backgrounds that they have had few positive experiences – so as a foster carer you are able to bring so much to their lives. Often anything you do with foster children is a first for them. At Christmas and birthdays they are so appreciative and to see the excitement on their faces is so rewarding.

“As well as being a foster carer I work as a nutritional consultant, and I enjoy the variety offered by these two different roles. I find that as long as you stay well organised, things seem to fit really well.”