Foster Care Associations project

The Foster Care Associations project was established in 2006 to help build links between local foster care associations (FCAs) enabling them to seek support, advice and information from each other, share good practice and develop an effective national voice on issues central to the lives of foster families.

The first phase of the project, funded by the Big Lottery, focused on mapping where local FCAs already existed, helping new FCAs to become established and building a regional and national forum structure to bring local FCAs together. The Big Lottery funding for the FCA project ended in April 2009, culminating in our project conference, Achievements and aspirations – foster care in the 21st century, held in London.

In our fourth year, funded by the John Ellerman Foundation, we were able to continue building the network with a particular focus on providing a forum for sharing high quality information and the opportunity to exchange knowledge as members of the FCA network. We also continued to provide a dedicated outreach service to assist in building strong working partnerships between fostering services and FCAs, offer advice and information on specific issues and explore funding opportunities for running an FCA.

We are delighted to be starting the next stage of the project, funded by the Big Lottery for the next three years, which will focus on developing training for FCAs, maintaining and building the regional and national forum structure and helping FCAs to develop the skills, expertise and confidence to influence policy and practice on a local and national level.

For more information about the FCA project, contact the FCA development project team on 0207 620 6440 or email us at:fca@fostering.net

More information and resources for FCAs can be found in our members' area.