Recruiting foster carers a 'significant issue' in Dorset
Just 19 homes were recruited last year from 235 initial enquiries
Foster recruitment in Dorset was down to just 19 last year – from 235 initial enquiries.
The results are thought to have been partially hit by the pandemic – with a new recruitment campaign planned for later this spring.
A report says that in-house foster carers, paid for and managed by Dorset Council, now provide homes for less than half of the county’s 440 children in care.
The result is the authority having to use more expensive independent fostering places or residential care and additional time and costs for visits to those being care for, many of them out of the county.
A Dorset Council report, which will go before councillors next week, says the recruitment of new foster carers remains a “significant issue” with a higher than average number of children in care and around 13 per cent of the foster care workforce expected to retire each year. Many in Dorset are continuing to work well beyond state retirement age.
Between 2018 and May 2021 the recruitment strategy for foster carers in Dorset was outsourced but is now being managed in-house with a focus, during the pandemic, on online and digital campaigns.
A report on the service says that in the last year there have been 235 enquiries which resulted in 104 initial visits and the recruitment of 19 fostering household. The national Fostering Network estimates that on average one out of ten enquiries progress to approval as foster carers.
Dorset Council says it aims to make the process of becoming a foster carer as quick and smooth as possible, with approvals within 26 weeks where possible.
Next week’s people and health scrutiny committee will be told that the in-house service faces competition to recruit not only from independent fostering agencies, who tend to pay more, but also from neighbouring local councils.
Another barrier is that potential recruits often fail to understand that fostering is open to almost anyone: “Many myths need dispelling – people are quick to rule themselves out for many reasons including age, being single, being a smoker or overweight.
“Messaging must be simple and clear to understand what kind of applicants we are looking for, how the application process works, what support is available and what kind of children need fostering,” said a report to the committee.
A national study suggests that the age group most likely to foster is between the ages of 45 and 54, with the 35-44 age group the next most common.
Work on a new county-wide campaign to recruit foster carers for Dorset Council is expected to be completed by the end of April 2022 with a focus on helping to keep the county’s young people living locally, close to their birth families, school and friends and portraying a mix of ages, backgrounds and abilities.
“Fostering is something that people think about for a number of months or years before they contact an organisation. Our marketing activity will aim to support people along their consideration journey, providing useful information, inspiration and advice to help them decide whether to pursue foster care,” said the report.