Fostering: what you need to know

Local authority or private agency?

Generally, if you want an easier time, foster from the local authority. But be warned, local authority support can be very poor, due to its restricted budget and lack of resources. On the other hand, a private fostering agency like North-East Foster Care Associates (NEFCA) offers 24-hour backup and support. They also provide outreach workers and respite care, to give carers a breathing space in which to have a nervous breakdown.

Agency carers receive more money, but the job is far more taxing. Also they are expected have a recognised qualification or at least be willing to do the course. So it’s back to college for starters.

You will be expected to attend the training days laid on by the agency, too, and it would be unwise to miss them. You will need all the advice you can get, for the children you foster from an agency will be those with the most challenging behaviour. The local authority, being the first port of call for a child coming into care, will try their own pool of carers first, and only when they fail to place the child will they turn to the more expensive agency.

Local authorities are turning to agencies with more and more frequency, with their own carers decamping to more lucrative agency pastures or giving up altogether, due to lack of support.

Breaking the fall

Fostering is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job and, if you’re considering fostering, you will need to rely on your personal support system of family and friends. It’s immensely stimulating, but you will need stamina and energy just to survive. You shouldn’t be terrified, but you must not take your commitment lightly either.

In Stockton – our local authority – one in every ten children ends up in care: a shocking statistic. Society’s structure is unravelling and its young are falling through the ‘safety net’. As foster carers, we are there at the bottom to break their fall.