Scotland news

Leading charity the Fostering Network Scotland is calling on the Government to end a postcode lottery that sees many foster carers out of pocket from caring for fostered children.

A new look advice and information service for foster carers in Scotland has been launched this week by the Fostering Network.

All foster carers, prospective foster carers and social workers in Scotland will now be able to use the confidential Fosterline Scotland service, run by the Fostering Network and funded by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is keen to add support to the Together for Change campaign, after the Fostering Network and three other children’s charities wrote to children’s minister Adam Ingram.

Sons and Daughters of foster carers will be appearing on the big screen as part of the International Human Rights Film Festival in Glasgow this week (21-25 October).

Commenting on the Looked After Children Scotland Regulations which come into force on Monday 28th September, Sara Lurie, director of the Fostering Network Scotland, said:

"We are pleased to see the removal of a legal loophole that prevented same sex couples from fostering.

The Fostering Network Scotland is celebrating the announcement of a grant for over £300,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. The grant, which was announced today, will enable the Fostering Network to provide more support and training for foster families across Scotland, through the continuation of the Fostering Links project.

Young people living in foster families in Scotland are having their voices silenced, the Fostering Network has warned, following the closure of a project designed to give them a chance to be heard.

Young people living in foster families in Scotland say that their voices are rarely heard in decision making about their lives, according to a new report from the Fostering Network Scotland.

Foster Care Fortnight in Scotland was launched at Holyrood’s historic Queensberry House in Edinburgh, at an event hosted by Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years.

The Looked After Children Education Forum and Learning and Teaching Scotland have responsed to Action 8 in Looked After Children and Young People: We Can and Must Do Better, which stated that a national network and information website for professionals, foster carers, residential workers, parents and looked after children and young people should be developed. The site, Looked After Children and Young People, was launched on 6 May 2008 by Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years, at a Corporate Parent event in East Lothian.