Council appeals to potential foster carers

Herefordshire Council is again seeking to recruit a wide range of carers to offer placements for children who need temporary and longer term foster homes.

Potential foster carers can earn up to £28,800 a year if they look after two teenagers. Fostering is much more than a job and requires special people who can deal with many of the emotional issues that children in care can bring with them.

Local children need local foster families who can provide a safe and secure home where all the needs of a foster child will be met. The council also needs carers who are flexible, patient and understanding, who can work with teenagers through difficult times and offer respite placements on a regular basis.

Applications are invited from potential carers who are single, married, gay or in a partnership, white or from an ethnic background, able bodied or living with a disability.

To encourage people to find out if fostering is for them, an open day and evening has been organised for February 7th from 1-8pm in central Hereford. There will be an opportunity to talk to other foster carers, social workers and managers about working with children. Those interested need to book a session by ringing 01432 262830.

Rebecca Plato, fostering manager, said: "We can never get enough foster carers. It takes quite a special person to do this amazing job so we offer each foster carer their own support worker and on-going training, including the opportunity to gain an NVQ three qualification.

"Support from a whole range of services is available, including out of hours help and a buddying system where someone will always be available to provide advice and guidance.

"Fostering can be challenging, but can also be extremely rewarding. Not everyone wants to make a full time long term commitment to it, but we do also need people in loving homes who are able to offer a few days here and there for children who need some space for a while."