TO MARK ‘Care Day’ (21 February), Foster Wales Bridgend joined Wales’ fostering community in highlighting the benefits of local authority care 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 and Foster Wales’ ‘Staying local’ campaign, led by care experienced people 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 per cent of young people with local authority foster carers remained in their area. However, only 31 per cent of young people cared for by commercial fostering agencies stayed local, with 7 per cent being moved outside of Wales entirely.
Becky and Pete from Bridgend have been local authority foster carers since 2006. They specialise in fostering children with complex needs, and Becky is also a liaison carer – which means she has undertaken additional training to be able to support other foster carers.
They said: “We choose to foster with our local authority because we know that it’s the best place to be in terms of putting children first, and we’ve remained here because our fostering journey has been so rewarding.
“Keeping children local has been extremely important to us, and we know that with the local authority, this is much more likely to happen.
“Of course, fostering can be a challenge too, but we’ve been blessed with a very supportive network around us, including professionals in the local authority that have been there every step of the way with us.
“The fostering community in Bridgend County Borough has grown and is invaluable. It really feels like we’re there for each other, whether it’s at a coffee support group, a particular event, or just day-to-day.
“We don’t see ourselves as anything different to any other parent or carer out there, we love all our children dearly and strive to do our best by them all. We’d encourage anyone thinking about fostering, to contact their local authority and take that first step!”
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, some of which are very much needed in the county borough.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Jane Gebbie said: “As a local authority we are responsible for all children in foster care. However, some agencies and charities may be commissioned by the local authority to provide foster care for some of the children.
“In line with Wales’s plans as the first country in the UK to remove profit from both residential and foster care for children, we will aim to rebalance the outsourcing of care and reduce the amount of profit extracted from our costs.
“The number of children in foster care has not changed significantly in recent years, but unfortunately the number of foster carers available has reduced.
“With the implementation of the eliminating profit policy, we will continue to fully support and train our existing local fostering team members, as well as actively recruiting new foster carers, and supporting commercial fostering agency carers to transfer to us.
“More foster carers are needed in Bridgend County Borough; by fostering with us you will help local children and young people stay connected to everything they know and love.
“We ask anyone able to offer their time and care to children in the county borough to contact Foster Wales Bridgend.”
For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry, visit the Foster Wales website.
