Plea issued to consider fostering care role

Less than a third of adults think they would not be accepted as foster carers.

Asked if they were to try and become foster parents in the next two years, 28% of 4,818 UK adults questioned by YouGov, said they would not be accepted for the role.

People who are single, have no children, are under 25s or over 55s also thought they would be ruled out prompting Fostering Network chief executive Robert Tapsfield there is more to being part of the 52,500 foster families who are looking after 63,000 children across the UK every day.

He said: “It doesn’t matter if you are single or living as a couple, how old you are, or whether you have children, a job or own your own house. What matters is that you have the skills and experience to look after children separated from their own families, who have often been abused or neglected.”

The figures published to coincide with the start of Foster Care Fortnight, also found that 73% of the population felt positive about foster carers and the work that they do, while almost one quarter (24%) said they would consider fostering either now or in the future.

The Fostering Network estimates that a further 8,600 families are needed this year alone, particularly to look after teenagers and children with disabilities, or to also as providing homes to groups of brothers and sisters.