Issue - meetings

An officer from the Council’s Children and Young People’s Service will talk about the recruitment process for foster parents and the valuable contribution that they provide.

A presentation was given by Jacinta Bolger from Council’s Fostering Team and Phyllis Grant, a foster carer for Haringey. 

The meeting was advised that there was a significant need for additional foster carers in the Borough.  As part of a drive to raise awareness of fostering each of the Area Assembly meetings were receiving a presentation from the Fostering Team.

It was noted that fuller information sessions were held at local libraries and a Fostering Fortnight was held in May. In addition an information bus that visited different locations within the Borough and a dedicated website was available where people could obtain information regarding fostering.

The meeting was given an overview from Phyllis Grant of her experience of fostering children and the type of commitment that was required from foster carers. In addition to being extremely rewarding foster carers were given an allowance based on the age of the child they were responsible for and ongoing support and training was also provided.

In order to become a foster carer you had to be able to provide a spare bedroom that would not compromise the space of existing family members. Candidates also had to demonstrate practical experience of looking after children. In addition potential foster carers were also assessed to determine whether they would be emotionally able to cope with the demands that fostering would place on them.

There was discussion around the reasons for refused and it was noted that potential foster carers were generally refused on eligibility grounds. In some cases people withdrew from the process because they felt unable to commit to the level of work required or to give the emotional support that would be needed.

Applicants were encouraged to be as open as possible during the process and to disclose any information that may affect their application.

In conclusion the Chair thanked officers for their presentation and encouraged anyone who wished to find out more about becoming a foster carer to contact the Fostering Team.