There are currently 534 children in care in Plymouth who all need a safe and loving environment to call home.
Plymouth City Council is urgently appealing for more local people to consider becoming a foster carer, as a spotlight is shined on the benefits of fostering thanks to Foster Care Fortnight (12 to 25 May).
Foster for Plymouth, the Council’s own not-for-profit fostering service, helps children to live locally. When there is a shortage of local placements, children have to live in residential homes or with fostering families outside of Plymouth, which means they’re separated from their friends, family, school and other trusted professionals that they may be used to working with.
This can negatively impact children and young people’s wellbeing and make a difficult time that much harder.
Foster for Plymouth currently only has 119 fostering households, as well as 32 kinship carers (family or friends who care for a child they know), and is actively asking residents to consider fostering.
Councillor Jemima Laing, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, said: “Foster Care Fortnight gives us a fantastic opportunity to thank and celebrate all our foster carers for all the hard work they do supporting children and young people.
“It’s also a fantastic opportunity for us to promote fostering to our residents. If fostering is something you’re at all interested in, I would really encourage you to reach out to our fantastic team to ask any questions or visit our website to find out more about what’s involved. You could make a huge difference to a child’s life.”
There are less barriers to being a foster carer than many people realise. To be considered, you need to be over the age of 21, have a spare room and be genuinely invested in supporting the wellbeing of children and young people.
There are different types of fostering that may suit different lifestyles, including:
- Time-limited fostering: Short term care that could last for a few days, weeks or even months, giving stability to a child or young person while decisions are made about their future
- Permanent fostering: A long-term commitment if a child or young person is unable to return to their birth family, looking after them until they reach adulthood
- Emergency fostering: Caring for children in an emergency scenario for a brief period (up to two weeks)
- Respite fostering: Caring for children for a few nights at a time to give the child’s longer-term carer a break
- Parent and child fostering: Opening your home to a child and their parents, supporting them while an assessment is carried out
- Step Forward fostering: Helping a child or young person with higher needs, such as behaviour challenges, out of residential care.
Foster for Plymouth offer a range of benefits, including generous financial allowances. Carers are paid between £350 and £779 per child, per week, depending on the child’s age and individual needs, or more for the Step Forward scheme.
This payment includes a weekly allowance to cover the costs of caring for a child or young person as well as a reward payment.
Carers also receive additional payments to pay for birthdays and birthday parties, holidays, religious festivals (such as Christmas) and even proms.
Many foster carers are also eligible for a 50 per cent Council Tax discount, or full exemption. This applies even to foster carers who live outside of the Plymouth City Council boundaries.
In addition to financial support, there’s also a comprehensive package of practical and emotional support on offer. This includes in-depth training and development, peer support, help from a dedicated supporting social worker, an online portal with 24/7 access to key information and regular social events.
If you’re interested in finding out more, visit fosterforplymouth.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 01752 308762.
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