Fostering Campaign 2004

Our campaign aimed to kick start some of the radical changes needed to make sure the foster care service can meet children's needs and that enough foster carers can be recruited.

> The launch of skills protect
> The Children Bill
> Media coverage
> Your support

The launch of skills protect

On 19 May we launched a new position statement 'Skills protect - the strategic development of foster care' which outlined our vision for a foster care service to develop from its historical base of being a largely 'volunteer' service by:

• integrating foster carers as team members with others supporting children and families
• offering career progression related to a nationally recognised qualification
• ensuring remuneration according to qualifications, experience and skills.

BAAF's Deputy Chief Executive, Barbara Hutchinson, launched the statement at The future of fostering services - a conference held in London which looked at how the Green Paper on children at risk and the Children Bill could be implemented to provide the best future for fostering services, children and their foster carers. This took place during Foster Care Fortnight, the annual recruitment campaign co-ordinated by the Fostering Network.

The Children Bill

BAAF produced a briefing on the bill and how we would like to see it improved as it made its passage through the House of Lords. We put forward two amendments:

1. A call for minimum fostering allowances which was supported by The Who Cares Trust, Voice for the Child in Care, A National Voice, Children's Rights Officers and Advocates, ChildLine, Barnardos and the Fostering Network.

2. A call for the registration of private foster carers to be implemented with the other Children Bill provisions rather than be left to a sunset clause, supported by Baroness Barker, the Bishop of Oxford and Earl Howe.

See more about the Children Bill - including our briefings for House of Commons Committee Stage and Report Stage debates.

Media coverage

Various elements of the campaign were covered by Children Now and Community Care.

Your support

Many people took the opportunity to tell us what they thought about the future of the foster care service during the campaign and offer their support for our proposals. Here's what they said:

“We kinship foster carers are entitled to be paid the same money both in allowances and payment for skills as mainstream foster carers.

We have to attend meetings and be regularly checked up on the same as mainstream carers. It is also far more difficult in the area of parental contact when it involves your own son or daughter.

Our love for our grandchildren is paramount but we had not planned to give up work when nearing our retirement and bring up our grandchildren who in the same way as other foster children are often very damaged and have problems.

Finance is a big problem which is going unrecognized often with kinship carers such as ourselves. It is wrong to expect us to live on less than mainstream carers and below the fostering network's recommended minimum and to give up working just prior to retirement.”
EG, Grandparent Foster Carer

“My husband and I have been foster carers for almost 3 years caring for up to 3 teenagers. We decided to become foster carers after eighteen years of caring for homeless teenagers, hoping in some small way to make a difference. The young people we foster tend to be some of the Boroughs most challenging.

Both my husband and I work although I have recently reduced my hours to part time. I would ideally prefer to stay at home and be a full time carer, but it is not financially viable for me to do so.

We feel that in order for Local Authorities to keep the foster carers they have, they need to look at paying all foster carers the professional fee which is currently only available to a very small percentage.

There are growing demands on Foster carers time such as attending meetings and courses and doing paperwork as well as trying to provide a stable and loving environment for the young people in their care. It is often hard to manage time successfully whilst holding down a job.

We love being Foster carers, but can understand why Local Authorities are losing so many to Agencies who recognise that being a Foster carer is a full time occupation.”
Juliette Munro, Foster Carer, Halton Social Services

“My wife and I have been considering becoming foster carers for a while now, and finally we have found an agency we feel we can work with. We are just beginning to understand how stretched the system is at the moment and how that is affecting the children. The campaign seems to address most of the issues emerging from our training.”
Andrea Binda, prospective foster carer

“I have been wanting to become a foster carer for some time, but was a little worried about support and cost. As I have a child of my own I was unsure if we could afford for me not to work. This campaign is a great step in the right direction, this will definitely boost foster carers, many people could be achieving qualifications as well as doing a well needed and rewarded job.”
Jemma

“When the talking is done, please let all kids know, whatever their age when they leave the care system, they will have the back-up from people who know them and love them. Don't let them make their own way in this bad world without having somewhere and someone they can turn to when they are in trouble.”
Annie Lyons, Open University Student

“I am extremely concerned about the situation for family members who wish to take on looking after children of other family members, particularly grandparents. The local authority seems to give them a poor deal when they are often the ideal people to offer care and continuity to their grandchildren but are constantly worried about the financial cost of providing a good home to their beloved grandchildren just when they are reaching retirement.”
Mary Macan, Carers Support Worker, Kingston Carers Network