Government To Develop National Fostering Strategy
Leading fostering charity the Fostering Network has welcomed the announcement by education and young people minister, Peter Peacock, to develop a national fostering strategy.
Director of the Fostering Network Scotland Bryan Ritchie said:
“We are delighted to hear of the proposal for a national fostering strategy. Foster carers are Scotland’s primary resource for children in the care system, however the shortage of at least 1,700 foster families demonstrates the need to improve the support currently offered.
“The Fostering Network recently produced the report Caring for our children (download a summary of this report in Word), the most comprehensive review of foster care to date. The report clearly shows that while fostering providers and foster carers are doing a remarkable job, fostering services are under considerable strain. It highlights a number of areas where immediate action must be taken if we are to prevent the fostering service from becoming overwhelmed.
“The Fostering Network is calling upon the Scottish Executive to acknowledge the findings from Caring for our children and incorporate the recommendations into the national strategy. Scotland is the only country in the UK which does not impose a limit of three fostered children with each foster family at any one time. As a result, carers are all too often being asked to look after five or more children, putting extreme pressure on foster families. We urge the Executive to bring Scotland in line with the rest of the UK and implement a limit of three fostered children per family.
“Moreover, providing carers with an allowance which actually covers the costs of looking after a fostered child, a fee enabling them to extend their commitment to fostering and proper training opportunities would be a huge first step towards tackling the shortage of 1,700 foster families in Scotland.
“Caring for our children highlights that fostering families are more vulnerable to allegations than any other family in the community. We urge the Scottish Executive to develop a national protocol for carers facing allegations, including independent support for carers in this position, and a right of appeal for carers.”
Caring for our Children was funded by the Scottish Executive, and has the support of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW). It was compiled from survey responses from 693 foster carers, 25 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, four voluntary agencies and two independent fostering providers.
The Fostering Network is the leading UK organisation representing all those involved, personally and professionally in foster care. All 32 local authorities, fostering agencies and all voluntary and independent fostering agencies, in Scotland are members of the Fostering Network.
