East of England fostering partnership launched
11 local authorities are joining forces to better provide support for children in need of temporary homes
Last updated 4th Jun 2024
A new partnership among eleven local authorities in the East of England has been launched to tackle the pressing shortage of foster carers.
The regional initiative aims to recruit more foster carers to keep children within their local communities, ensuring they can maintain important connections and receive stable, nurturing care.
Participating local authorities include Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.
The need for foster carers increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced the number of available carers.
Lynn Knowles, Head of Fostering and Adoption at Hertfordshire County Council, said: "Finding homes for children in their local communities has become much more challenging, so we thought we're better together."
"We came together and are launching this recruitment campaign across the region and really the main reason to keep children within their local communities, with foster carers who could provide stable homes for those children where they could still maintain contacts."
The partnership’s recruitment campaign seeks to address this issue by raising awareness about the critical need for foster carers, particularly for sibling groups and teenagers, who often face additional challenges in the system.
Lynn Knowles added: "Not only is there the trauma of being removed from your your birth family, but actually then you have another trauma being removed out of your immediate community, so we really want to do something about that."
“We all want to be loved and have a sense of belonging, and the feedback we receive from our foster children and carers shows that while fostering can be challenging, the rewards far outweigh those challenges."
One of the key components of the partnership is the expansion of the Mockingbird hubs, providing an extended network of support for foster parents and their foster children.
The main idea behind the joint approach is to share best practices across the participating local authorities, to enhance the support and training offered to foster carers.
Other authorities participating in the scheme include Central Bedfordshire, Bedford Borough, Luton Borough, Hertfordshire, Essex County Council, Norfolk County Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Suffolk County Council and Thurrock Council.