Sunderland leads on huge drive to recruit foster carers as demand rises

Sunderland's children in care need you!

With a major need for foster carers in the region, Sunderland City Council is leading England’s first collaborative support hub aimed at providing advice and guidance for prospective foster carers, whilst recruiting more from a range of different backgrounds and circumstances.

The council's children’s services partner, Together for Children, has teamed up with 12 local authorities for the newly-launched hub, entitled Foster with North East.

The launch comes as new figures show there are 6,000 children currently in care in the North East, but only 1,500 approved foster carers available - 33% fewer than there was a year ago.

Sunderland mum-of-five Lesley Rose, 51, has been fostering for the past 10 years and says seeing children in care go on to flourish is incredibly rewarding.

In the past decade, she and husband Anth, 58, have fostered more than 100 children at their Castletown home.

Speaking about how the couple became foster carers, she said :"I used to work at a community organisation and part of my role was working with the youth club.

"Then I started working at Sunderland City Council and didn't realise just how much I'd miss working with the young people.

"I started working with one of the fostering and social workers and mentioned that I wanted to foster but didn't think they'd want me because I didn't have the skills and knowledge. But she said 'why not? You'd be perfect."

Misconceptions about prerequisites are one of the major stumbling blocks to recruiting foster carers.

New research conducted to coincide with the launch of the hub, found almost half (44%) of people surveyed in the region believe incorrectly you need to be married, have children (43%) or be in a full-time job (38%) to be considered as a foster carer.

An additional 38% think you need to earn over a certain amount of money per year to qualify to be a foster carer, with 40% believing carers must have a minimum annual salary of £25,000 - all of which are not determining factors for foster carer approvals. After realising they were indeed eligible to foster, Lesley and Anth went to their first foster meeting 10 years ago and got the ball rolling on the paperwork.

A month after they were approved as foster carers, they welcomed their first child through the doors.

Both worked full-time until two years ago, with Anth now on call for the Fostering Network’s Mockingbird programme, an initiative which brings together six to ten fostering families who act as an extended family for activities such as Sunday lunches, sleepovers and days out, and also support each other like any other big family.

Lesley, meanwhile, still works at Sunderland City Council as a digital learning lead.

From short-term respite, such as a young girl whose mum was in hospital and didn't have any nearby family, to long-term foster children who may come from challenging backgrounds, the children the couple foster have come from a broad range of backgrounds with a broad range of needs.

Three of those children now live with the Rose family permanently and will do until adulthood.

"You know when it feels right. It's whether you have the room to start with, but then it's whether it suits that child and suits you," said Lesley.

Speaking about one of her long-term foster children, she said: "He came to us three days before Christmas and he was like a shivering lamb. Now, he's so outgoing with a bright future ahead of him."

The Rose's youngest child was 14 when they started fostering. They also have five grandchildren and Lesley says the foster children often become like cousins to the family - with many returning in adulthood to keep Lesley and Anth posted on their progress in life.

"You bring normality to the children and become like their nana and granddad," she said. "You can't deny there are challenges and highs and lows, but seeing that child become an adult and thrive is so rewarding, even if you've only played a small part, you've played a part.

"To watch a child who's got nothing walk out and find a job and become a credit to society is incredible."

What is Foster With North East?

Led by Sunderland City Council’s children’s services partner Together for Children, the newly launched hub seeks to support prospective foster carers in the region through their full journey, from initial enquiry, application and beyond.

The hub will act as a first point of contact for those interested in fostering to help them make an informed choice about how fostering could work for them.

Backed by the Department for Education, the hub will be the first port of call for prospective carers offering a warm welcome, directing enquiries to their local authority, and providing support throughout the application process.

The scheme seeks to help recruit carers from a range of different backgrounds and circumstances in the region.

Foster with North East will also benefit from a new buddy mentoring scheme, linking prospective foster carers to experienced foster carers in their local area for further guidance and support through their assessment process.

Cost of being a carer

It also guides you through the practicalities of being a foster carer, such as the cost.

Fostering is a professional role with responsibilities and the allowances paid by all of the partners within Foster with North East reflect this.

Each local authority sets their own foster care allowance rates based on Government guidelines, so there's no fixed allowance for fostering in the North East.

But all foster carers receive a fostering allowance for each child, and adult in the case of parent and child placements, who stays with them.

The weekly allowances are paid on a monthly basis and cover the cost of caring for the child as well as providing an income.  Find out more about Foster with North East at www.fosterwithnortheast.org.uk