Social Care - The worrying truth about foster carers

A fostering crisis is looming unless councils step up their efforts to recruit more and younger people into the sector. That's the stark warning from the Fostering Network in its latest report, The Age of Foster Care.

With a current shortage of 10,000 foster carers across the country, the situation is likely to worsen due to the ageing pool of foster carers. Figures show two-thirds of the UK's fosterers are aged 50-plus and only six per cent are under 40.

While some councils are already running recruitment campaigns, many linked to the recent Foster Care Fortnight, more needs to be done, says the Fostering Network.

Maintaining contact

It is calling for targeted recruitment drives involving focus groups to discover what attracts different age groups to foster care.

Smarter use of marketing and data record-keeping is also key, says Fostering Network development officer Helen Clarke, author of the report.

"Councils are good at quickly sending out an information pack to those who respond to campaigns. But it doesn't always ensure that contact remains," she says. "Deciding to become a foster carer is a long process and many potential fosterers can be lost through lack of contact."

Clarke recommends mirroring the practice of direct marketers by keeping clear records of all those who make contact with the fostering service, while ensuring contact is maintained with those who are still considering taking on the role.

One council already addressing this is the London Borough of Islington. The council's fostering recruitment manager Laurence Prieto says: "It can take people a year or even longer to make the decision to foster. We need to maintain contact to keep checking that they have not changed their minds."

Word-of-mouth is important, says Prieto. He adds that Islington's fostering service has a community liaison officer who acts as a familiar face when promoting fostering in local venues and community groups.

Training and support

Another recent success for Islington in attracting younger fosterers has been a focus on recruiting carers for teenagers. According to the latest council figures, one-third of the 25 to 30 carers recruited each year now want to foster teenagers and the average age of all fosterers in the borough has dropped from 46 to 40.

Clarke says campaign material must be focused on the "professionalisation" of fostering.

With this in mind, the London Borough of Enfield's fostering services manager Vanessa Strang says: "We clearly spell out that we have a strong plan in place for training and support that includes a definite timetable."

Enfield and Islington are part of a group of five councils that are exploring teaming up for support, training and advertising services.

But Clarke cautions against a short-term focus if the dearth of fosterers is to be overcome: "Councils need to look at recruitment strategically and with a long-term vision."