16 May - Team in the running for foster care fortnight
Make fostering your future - and make a real difference to a child's life!
Make fostering your future - and make a real difference to a child's life!
That was the message from the Family Placement Team who joined thousands of runners, walkers and charity fund-raisers to pound the streets of Middlesbrough at the weekend.
The team, consisting foster carers, young people and fostering service staff, were taking part in the town's popular 5k Riverside Run - and spreading an important message at the same time.
The event came at the start of Foster Care Fortnight which runs until Sunday, May 27.
Over the next two weeks, a number of events will be held to raise awareness of the importance of fostering, and the urgent need to recruit new foster carers in Middlesbrough.
One of the highlights of the campaign will be the Foster Carer Recognition Evening at Middlesbrough Municipal Golf Club on Thursday, May 24, when the achievements and contributions of local carers will be celebrated.
The evening will also feature the launch of the town's new Foster Care Charter.
Middlesbrough Council looks after children and young people who cannot live with their own families, for a variety of reasons.
The number of children in care who need foster homes has risen over the last five years, and it is estimated that nearly 9,000 new fosters carers are needed to meet demand across the UK. An ageing foster carer population sees around 14 per cent of the workforce retire or leave every year.
In Middlesbrough, there is a specific need for carers for large sibling groups and older children. With around 360 young people currently in local authority care but just 160 in family placements, the aim is to increase the number of foster carers in the town to 100 by 2014.
Family Placement Team Manager Lynn Woodhouse said: "It is impossible to overstate the importance of the role played by foster carers, but we need more people to come forward.
"We believe that the best type of care for the children we are looking after is a family placement - without them, too many of the most vulnerable children in society will have to settle for second best, such as living in residential care when fostering has been identified as the right option.
"Over the next fortnight and beyond we want to hear from as many people as possible who feel fostering might be for them.
"There is no such thing as a 'typical' foster carer. We are looking to recruit people who can offer the children we are looking after a stable and caring home.
"It's also important to stress that foster carers do not work in isolation but are very much part of a team focused on the needs of the child and their family.
"Foster carers can make a real difference to children and their families at times of stress."
- To find out more about becoming a foster carer, call the Middlesbrough Fostering Team on 01642 201962, email family_placement@middlesbrough.gov.uk or visit www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/fostering