The Fostering Network has announced the discontinuation of Family Finder, the publication that helped find a foster home for children in care in England and Wales.
Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, said:
"The decision to discontinue the publication has been made after long and careful consideration by the Fostering Network’s senior management. In the past five years, Family Finder has helped find a home for hundreds of children and we are proud to have been a part of this process. However, the world of family finding has grown and developed since 2002.
"There are now a broad range of options available to social workers looking to place children and young people. The growth of independent fostering providers has reduced the need for dedicated family finding publications. At the same time, the development of new family finding services on and offline has meant that there is not the same demand for Family Finder as there was previously.
"Although Family Finder is not published to generate revenue, falling numbers of profile bookings in the past year have meant that the production of the magazine is also no longer financially viable for us as an organisation. As a registered charity, we need to examine all of our expenditure carefully and critically in order to ensure that we are putting funds to the best possible use. With escalating printing and distribution costs, measured alongside declining bookings, we can no longer justify the production of the publication. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused."