It’s no secret that recruiting people to be foster carers can be a difficult and strenuous task for fostering agencies.
It is expected that over 7,000 foster families are going to be needed in 2018. However, fostering recruitment teams work their hardest to make this happen every single day, which is why this figure is more than achievable.
Action for Children recently released a report that stated 85% of the surveyed adults showed little or no interest in fostering at all. Whilst this is a disappointing figure, it is not a reason to believe the target is not achievable. Put into figures, a mere 0.03% of households in the UK would need to become foster carers each year in order to meet the demand for 7,000 new foster families. It is the job of fostering recruitment teams to find the right people to become foster carers.
Foster carers need the right skills and experience to meet the needs of the wide range of children and young people they could potentially be caring for. Fostering recruitment teams should understand the sort of children they need foster carers for and then be targeting their marketing and search for these people. These recruitment teams within fostering services also do all they can in order to keep their existing foster carers, by treating them as professionals, offering the right training and support. Motivated foster carers can be a great way to recruit others to do the same.
Some people have been calling for a government-funded campaign to help recruit foster carers as a result of the survey conducted by Action for Children. Foster Care Fortnight already exists and is extremely successful, having already reached over 12.7million people.
A UK-wide marketing campaign is challenging, particularly because the need for foster carers can widely differ between locations. Foster Care Fortnight raises awareness of those in need of fostering and the fantastic work of the carers. Foster Care Fortnight alone may be enough to recruit 7,000 new foster families within the next year, though government funding would of course be welcomed and appreciated in order to offer foster carers the best financial and practical support possible.
If you’re new to fostering and want to find out more about Little Acorns, or you are currently a foster carer and want to find out more about transferring to us, we can help. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team by giving us a call on 01440 732 010 or via our contact page.