Throughout Fostering Fortnight (May 12th to May 25th) NCH, the childrenís charity is calling on people who are looking for a career change to consider fostering as an option and open their home to children or young people who can not live with their parents.
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There are 60,000 (1) children in care in England today, 42,000 of whom live with foster families. However there is an estimated shortfall of about 10,000 (2) foster carers who are needed to provide safe and secure homes. The urgent need for more people to come forward as foster carers is clear.
Susan Cotton, Fostering Manager at NCH, says: ìThere are so many misconceptions out there about fostering which can sometimes lead to people not coming forward as carers. People donít realise that fostering is a professional career attracting fees and allowances to reflect the importance of the role as key supporters of young people. We also provide extensive training and support to our carers. Thatís why we want people who are thinking of changing career to consider fostering; there isnít a more rewarding career.
NCH is also keen to dispel the myths that surround who is eligible to foster as Cotton continues: ìToo many people wrongly think they arenít eligible to foster. Some people think that they might be too old or because they are single they canít foster, but in fact none of these are true. NCH welcome applications for fostering from all walks of life. We urge people to pick up the phone and find out more.î
NCH Foster Carer Ben says: ìI used to work in IT and just felt like I needed to do something more meaningful, I saw an advert to become a foster carer and decided to find out more. It is the best thing I have ever done. The training and support that I get from NCH is brilliant, it makes the fostering journey so much easier.î
There are many different types of fostering that NCH needs carers for, for example, emergency foster placements when a child needs somewhere safe to stay for a few nights or longer term foster care placements which can last from anything from months to years. Some foster carers provide regular respite breaks for children with disabilities, special needs or behavioural difficulties to give their parents a break.
If you are interested in finding out more about NCHís fostering services please contact 0845 200 5162. To find out more about what it is like to be a foster carer please visit the NCH fostering blog at www.nch.org.uk.
1. Children looked after in England year ending 31st March 2007 http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000741/SFR27-2007rev.pdf
2. Statistics from The Fostering Network http://www.fostering.net/
Looking for a career change? Try fostering, says NCH
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