Leading charity the Fostering Network Scotland is to launch a major national campaign, Foster Care Fortnight, on Monday 14 May to improve opportunities and outcomes for children in foster care throughout Scotland.
To achieve this aim the Fostering Network hopes to recruit more foster carers, whilst also calling on the Scottish Executive to introduce key measures to improve the lives of children living in foster care.
1,700 more foster homes are needed in Scotland to provide care for vulnerable children and Foster Care Fortnight, which runs until 27 May, will be asking people throughout Scotland to think about helping to fill this gap. The current shortage of foster carers means some children are unnecessarily moved from home to home and foster carers are frequently being asked to look after four or more fostered children, in addition to their own.
Currently Scotland is the only country in the UK that does not impose a limit of three fostered children with each foster family at any one time. The Fostering Network believes overcrowding is putting excessive pressure on foster families, with the result that placements are breaking down far too often.
In addition, the charity believes more training is needed for foster carers to ensure skills are maintained, and the length of time a child remains in foster care should be extended as many are forced to leave before they can cope.
As part of Foster Care Fortnight the Fostering Network will call on the Scottish Executive to introduce:
- A limit to the number of children that can be placed in any one foster home to three (except for sibling groups).
- Mandatory training so that foster carers can develop skills and knowledge and increase their ability to make a difference to children’s lives.
- An extension to the length of time young people can remain with foster carers to the age of 21 so that they are sufficiently prepared for independence.
Bryan Ritchie, director of the Fostering Network Scotland, said:
"While we are calling on the Scottish Executive to prioritise the needs of those in foster care, Foster Care Fortnight is not just about politics – it’s also about finding more people to take on the challenge of foster care.
"A broader pool of foster carers will make it easier to find the right home for each child first time. Although lots of people have heard of fostering, most do not realise that they may be suitable or that there are many different types of fostering, from short-term placements that require one weekend a month to others that last for many years. In some cases people choose to foster full-time while others combine fostering with a job outside the home. As long as you have the space, time and commitment, there is a type of foster care that could suit you."
To illustrate the diversity of those who foster, four faces of foster care have been selected from Scotland to tell their stories. The faces of foster care reflect the diverse range of ages, skills and backgrounds that are needed to care for the equally diverse children in care in Scotland on any given day.
Face of foster care participants, Tom and Linda Mathieson, said:
"As foster carers we have learned to listen, encourage and communicate. Our own children have been really involved and cooperative and made good friends with all the children. Initially when we came into fostering we thought we would be just working and helping a child or children. We soon realised it’s not just a child - it’s a whole family."
The Fostering Network Scotland is urging anyone interested in fostering to visit www.fostercarefortnight.co.uk, where stories and images of all the faces of foster care can be found.