Foster Care Fortnight 2013

Today is the first day of ‘Foster Care Fortnight’, which is a really big, yearly event in the UK for foster carer recruitment. As the event was such a turning point in mine and my family’s life, I feel like it’s important for me to share this with you all!

I was interested in the idea of fostering when the event took place a few years ago, and the information I received helped me and Tim  eventually make the decision to foster Lucy.

The ‘picture frame’ event running this year puts foster care services, care leavers, their children, as well as prospective carers in the spotlight. A bit of research shows that around 9,000 new carers are needed across the UK at the moment, leaving a huge amount of vulnerable children without the support they desperately need.

The time that my family have spent with Lucy has been invaluable to us, and hopefully provided her with the support she needed as well. It’s been wonderful to have this special little girl in our lives, and see the way her confidence and happiness has grown since she came to live with us.

I’m not saying that foster care is an easy or perfect experience for any parent, but I think there are many people out there that would make great foster parents, but don’t pursue the idea 

further because of their limited knowledge or misconceptions on the subject. Hopefully the ‘Get in the Frame’ event will help prospective foster parents get a clearer idea of whether foster care is right for them.

If you think you could be a foster carer I would urge you to look into what is happening in your area for Foster Care Fortnight.

Are you a foster carer, or considering becoming one? Let me know what you think, and what your experiences have been so far – good and bad.