Dozens apply to foster in West Sussex - but more carers are needed
A drive's out to recruit new families as part of Foster Care Fortnight
Dozens of people applied to become foster carers in West Sussex but more are needed, figures show.
A nationwide drive for thousands more foster families has been launched as part of Foster Care Fortnight.
Authorities in the area received around 40 applications to foster and 95 expressions of interest between April 2019 and March last year, the latest Ofsted data shows.
Social media and promotional campaigns have contributed to a growing interest across the UK but attracting and retaining suitable carers who can cope with the complexities of fostering is proving a challenge, experts say.
At the end of March 2020, there were around 285 households opening their doors to vulnerable children in the area, with an estimated 300 youngsters living with foster families.
Of those households, 115 were approved to offer permanent places, with 30 given permission to foster children of family or friends.
But recruitment difficulties and an ageing carer population could be “storing up trouble for the future”, Ofsted has warned.
And the Fostering Network says more than 8,600 more fosterers are needed across the UK to ensure children in care are placed in safe and stable environments suitable for their needs.
Those in foster homes represent more than two-thirds of the area’s 808 looked after children, according to Department for Education statistics.
But experts are calling for more people to come forward to ensure there is a large pool of fosterers diverse enough to meet the needs of a growing care population.
There is also a particular need for foster families able to accommodate sibling groups, teenagers and disabled children.
Within the households approved for fostering in West Sussex, there were around 495 carers - 68% aged over 50 - offering up to 470 places for looked after children at the end of March last year.
Figures for 2019-20 also show that 93 children in the area moved between placements at least three times.
Sadie Constable from the Fostering Network said there was a vital need for more people to come forward and provide looked after children with stability and security.
She said thousands of new carers could ensure every child in need of a foster family is placed with people who have the right skills to care for them “at the first time of asking”.
She added:
“We know that multiple moves between foster homes once a child comes into care can be destabilising for them, so it’s vital that we have the numbers of skilled foster carers needed to make sure that this doesn’t happen.”
Yvette Stanley from Ofsted echoed the charity’s call for more carers, saying:
“While there has been a small rise in foster carers and places over the last year, there still isn’t anywhere near enough to meet demand, particularly given the rising numbers of adolescents needing foster care.
“The difficulty in recruiting carers with the right skills and experience, while making sure they have enough support, and a potentially an aging carer population, is a mix that could be storing up trouble for the future."