THIS CARE Day (21 February), Foster Wales Anglesey joins the fostering community to highlight the benefits of local authority care.
This comes as the Welsh Government’s landmark Health and Social Care Bill begins the process of removing profit from the children’s care system.
Wales is the first country in the UK to legislate to remove profit from both residential and foster care for children.
Foster Wales’ ‘Staying local’ campaign, led by those with experience of living in care, and local authority foster carers, aims to show how the policy will support young people in care to stay connected to their local area, community, friends, and school.
Last year, 85% of young people with local authority foster carers remained in their local area. However, only 31% of young people cared for by commercial fostering agencies stayed local, with 7% being moved outside of Wales entirely.*
Anglesey foster carer, Donna, started fostering with a commercial fostering agency in 2008. She chose to transfer to Foster Wales Anglesey in 2020 and has “never looked back”.
Donna explained, “Previously, the agency offices, training and activities were out of county, which involved a lot of travelling. I also cared for children from further afield and even some from over the border. This meant they were far from their family and friends – which was understandably difficult. Here, everything is local. The support is great, and everything is nearby for me and the children.”
She added, “I’m happy to share that my experience of local authority fostering has been a positive one. I’d recommend it to anyone. While it can be a rollercoaster, the highs certainly outweigh the lows.”
Foster carers, Dee and Rob also joined Foster Wales Anglesey in 2020 after nearly a decade of fostering with another commercial fostering agency.
Dee said, “Since joining the Foster Wales Anglesey team, I feel that we aren’t far from anyone or anything that we need. We have a great support network around us.”
“My Supervising Social Worker, who is fantastic, will call by whenever I need something, and the team are only down the road If I need to pop into the office to see them.”
“The feeling of being part of a fostering community is what it’s all about. We now have a voice. We have support around us, and we’re part of a one big team. I only wish we had transferred to our local authority sooner.”
In Wales, there are more than 7,000 children in the care system, but only 3,800 foster families. Foster Wales has set out with the bold aim of recruiting over 800 new foster families by 2026 to provide welcoming homes for local children and young people.
There are currently 158 children in the care of Anglesey County Council, with 107 of those children in foster care with the Council. We have 56 fostering households, and we aim to recruit another 5 households every year to meet local children’s needs.
Anglesey’s Director of Social Services, Fôn Roberts, said: “Our foster carers do an incredible job. They support our looked after children by offering their skills, empathy, and kindness to ensure they feel safe and secure. They are supported by our highly trained and award-winning fostering team here on Anglesey.”
He added, “One of the many benefits of local authority foster care is that we’re able to support our children to live locally, allowing them to stay connected to their family, friends, school and community.”
Children, Young People and Families portfolio holder, Councillor Dyfed Wyn Jones, added: “The quality of care that our dedicated local authority foster carers provide is second to none. We are incredibly proud of our amazing foster carers who strive to provide better futures for local children and young people.”
“We would encourage anyone who wants to make a difference to a child’s life as part of an experienced and supportive team, to contact Foster Wales Anglesey for an informal chat to learn more about our local fostering community.”
For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry, visit: https://anglesey.fosterwales.gov.wales/
