Councils' foster carer recruitment drive garners more than 3,000 responses
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A fostering campaign run jointly by 23 councils across the north west of England has attracted more than 3,000 enquiries, according to latest figures.
The year-long campaign called You Can Foster was launched last autumn in an effort to address an estimated shortage of between 1,700 and 2,000 foster carers across the region.
According to the campaign’s project lead, Rachael Suthurst, 166 of those who have enquired are going through the assessment process and have a date to be interviewed by council fostering panels, while 40 people who responded to the campaign have completed their fostering assessment and training, and are now caring.
The campaign featured TV, radio and outdoor advertising, using existing foster carers and the slogan "there is no typical foster carer".
It also featured a book about fostering, involving stories from foster carers, which will continue to be available online.
Brenda Walcott, one of the foster carers who featured in the advertising campaign, said: "It’s great that so many people have come forward through this campaign, as there are many children who really need them."
