Did you know that as foster carer, you can foster both a parent and their children?  It’s called PACT (Parents And Children Together), and there is a great need for PACT trained foster carers.  Jane, one of FCC’s Supervising Social Workers and PACT trainer, explains why.

As a Supervising Social Worker for FCC I have supported many foster carers providing a variety of placements.

Recently, we have provided an increased number of Parent and Child placements. This is where a parent is placed alongside their child in the foster home. This can be one or two parents and a baby or a child. We have also had a mother and two children placed with us. This type of fostering is very different to the usual placement of a child or young person in the family home but is as equally rewarding.

Often these placements have been requested by the court where there have been concerns about the mother’s ability to parent and are usually requested for a 12 week assessment period, but due to circumstances this can vary.

Issues that we have dealt with include concerns around a parent’s previous drug or alcohol use, learning disabilities or inappropriate partners. Maybe the parent has previously had a child removed from their care. Having a parent live in the foster home gives them a chance to learn new skills and build their confidence to enable them to parent their child adequately.

Carers assist them with learning routines with regards to feeding, laundry, play and sleep times etc. Parents are involved in all aspects of family life with the carers acting as appropriate role models. Parents have been supported to attend local baby groups, visit the clinic and doctors etc. They have taken part in family activities to include meals out, cinema and barbeques. The carers need good observation and recording skills. They need good communication skills as they will need to build a relationship with the parent but also remain clear that they have to report back to the Social Worker on a regular basis.

We have seen children return with their parents to live in the community successfully with some keeping in contact with their carers afterwards. Sometimes this is not possible and the child’s needs have to remain the most important throughout. If the plan is for the child to live elsewhere the foster carers have an important role in supporting them to transition to a new family. Myself and an experienced PACT carer provide training and support specific to this role. PACT carers will have regular Social Work visits and 24 hour phone support. They will also have peer support from other PACT carers. It can be hard work but also very rewarding knowing that you have been part of a team making the best decision for a child.

Paula, one of our most experienced PACT carers, said: “The thing I enjoy about PACT placements is that I’m not the babysitter. It’s my job to encourage the parent to be a good mum or dad and it’s rewarding watching them learn new skills.”

If you feel that you could become a PACT foster carer, or if you have an interest in fostering generally, you can make an initial enquire here.

Source:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk

We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, flexible and personable Social Worker.

The successful candidate will be responsible for recruiting, assessing and supporting Foster Carers to maintain a quality fostering service for looked after children in the South Wales area. The role will involve regular travel to the homes of foster carers (which may involve travelling distances) and being available to answer emergency calls outside of office hours.

The FCC do not believe in providing our Social Workers with heavy caseloads. Instead we aim to provide our Social Workers with ample capacity to provide a thorough, personal and meaningful service to all of our foster families.

Applicants must have experience in the completion of good quality, evidence based assessments and hold a Diploma or BA in Social Work. Prior fostering experience is desirable but not essential. We have a particular interest in applicants who are Welsh speakers.

The successful applicant will join a supportive team with an established carer group and experienced social workers. We are a non-profit organisation, putting the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint a Social Worker who is as passionate about this as we are.

Closing Date: 9th October 2018

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Tracey Arnold or Kim Perkins on 029 20464348.

The FCC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and operate a Safe Recruitment policy; applicants must be willing to undergo Safeguarding screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service clearance at an enhanced level. CVs will not be accepted, all applicants must complete an application form.

Full details and application documents here

The Foster Care Co-operative is delighted to welcome Sumerjit Ram (Sam Ram) as their new CEO.

Sam brings with her over 25 years’ experience of senior leadership at CEO and Director levels.  Sam has established a reputation for being innovative and developing a wide range of partnerships, collaborations and professional relationships.

Sam’s roots are embedded in community development work; often being drafted into deprived areas, her objective was to work directly with communities to help rebuild and strengthen them – using key ‘early intervention’ techniques to try and break any negative cycles of deprivation.

Sam’s career has always focused on achieving positive outcomes for children, their families and the wider community. More recently Sam was the CEO of a national ‘Outstanding’ Adoption Agency. She has had the opportunity to touch many people’s lives, and has been privileged to see the impact of her work – particularly on the children she has helped.  Her manta has always been that every child should be given the chance to experience family life.

Source:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk

We said a fond farewell to our CEO, Ian ‘The Colonel’ Brazier last week!

Ian retired after a celebratory lunch at FCC headquarters in Malvern, attended by staff and foster carers.  We even managed to source the correct marching music from his days in the army!

Ian helmed the FCC ship for 9 years.  In that time he solidified FCC as an ethical, transparent, not-for-profit organisation. Always cheerful and upbeat, Ian was always a problem solver, and built morale with his infectious optimism. His knowledge of business and contracts ensured that FCC marched on (excuse the pun), achieving many accolades, including an Inspiring Co-operative of the Year award.

Ian always knew how to get the very best from his staff – and he encouraged input from all staff members every step of the way, without exception.   Ian never micro-managed – he just managed well.  One of his most endearing qualities was the praise he heaped on individuals who had done a particularly good job.  There was never any doubt that this man was proud of FCC, and this pride was truly infectious.

As Executive Director, Ian was truly inspirational.  One day he would be attending Local Authority meetings, the next he would be participating in an activity day for our carers and their children.  He didn’t behave like an Executive Director – and that was the key to his success.  

Ian has left an indelible mark here at The Foster Care Co-operative, and will be truly missed by everyone.

Thank you Ian, for everything!

Source:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk

The Foster Care Co-operative (FCC) – a national foster care organisation – are very pleased to announce that the wonderful Neil Morrissey will be the ‘voice of FCC’ – for its national radio commercials over the coming year, and possibly beyond.

Neil recorded his voice at Global Radio’s Leicester Square studio in London earlier in July.  The recording session was attended by Dan Rosewarne, who handles all the marketing for FCC.

The radio commercial is actually a poem, written from the point of view of an adult that used to be in care.  Neil was genuinely moved by the poem, and commented that the FCC were ‘doing a great job’.

Deciding to become a foster carer is a major decision. There’s no question it can make a big difference to a child who is unable to live with their parents at a point in time. But while the rewards are clear, it can be a daunting prospect if you don’t know anyone who has experience of fostering children.

More than 65,000 children live with foster families across the UK and the Fostering Network charity estimates that services in England need to recruit a further 6,800 foster families in the next 12 months to meet the need for placements. With that in mind, seven foster carers have shared what they think you should know if you’re considering it - both the good and bad - for Foster Care Fortnight. 

You have to always be curious. If you apply to become a foster carer, you will be asked to complete a DBS (criminal record) check, health assessment and attend group preparation sessions with other people who are applying. As well as assessing your suitability to be a foster carer these sessions also give you a chance to find out more about whether fostering is right for you and can be a great source of insight.

Sue and Tony, from Gloucestershire, who have been foster carers for eight years with The Foster Care Co-operative were advised in a training session to “always be curious”. This has been their mantra ever since and it has helped them through some testing times when they’ve needed to consider the motives behind children’s behaviour. “These children have not had the benefit of the same upbringing [as we did],” they say. “So, there are reasons they do the things they do and react the way they react.” 

Being foster carers can be challenging, and they say “unfortunately situations can sometimes not turn out well. This can be very sad and make you question if you could have done things differently.” But rather than beat themselves up about it, they remind themselves to be curious about why things didn’t work out.

“We have been in ‘that place’; several times and have felt disappointed in ourselves,” they explain. “We have come to the conclusion that we have all the skills and tolerance levels - maybe ours weren’t right in this instance but we know that someone else will have the skills needed to support that person.”

The whole family has to be “in” to make it work. You may be keen to foster a child, but if you already have kids then it is incredibly important to make sure the whole family fully understands the process and is happy with the choice. Paula, from Bristol, who has been fostering for 11 years with The Foster Care Co-operative, says she did a lot of research with her whole family to prepare them for the challenges ahead before they embarked on fostering.

Once they had made the decision to go ahead, they changed everything in the house from that day on. “Everyone had to adapt to new house rules and we did this before having a placement so it was a natural thing and wasn’t seen as implemented because of the placement,” she says. 

Sometimes adults need fostering too. When you think of fostering you may just think about welcoming children into your home, but sometimes parents can be fostered too. Paula specialises in Parent And Child Together (PACT) placements where a young parent, usually a mother and baby, comes to stay with you at a time when they need extra support. The aim of these placements is to help a parent who is having difficulties develop the skills and confidence necessary to keep their family together. 

Foster carers come from all walks of life. Lee Jameson, an LGBT advocate, wants people to know that you don’t need to be a heterosexual couple of a certain age to foster children. He and his partner have been fostering since 2014. “We are two men but that has not bothered the kids one bit,” he wrote in a blog hosted on HuffPost UK. “What you see is what you get with us. Foster carers come from all walks of life - it is not the old grandma foster carer strolling round the house like Miss Hannigan, it is different nowadays. It doesn’t matter if you have partner or if you are single – you can make a difference.”

Having a support network is crucial. Shagufta ‘Goofy’ Nasir, who has been fostering since 2012, has written in a blog hosted on HuffPost UK about how  she and her partner chose to foster through an agency - Foster Care Associates Scotland (FCAS) - as they wanted support throughout the process (an alternative is to go through your local authority). “The level of support on offer varies quite a lot between fostering agencies, so it’s important to do your research beforehand,” she says. “There are always going to be a handful of challenges, and the right support is vital at those times. I’ve made lifelong friends through fostering support networks.”

You experience many milestones money cannot buy. Martin Barrow, from Sussex, who blogs about his experiences as a foster carer on HuffPost UK, says one of the biggest joys about being a foster carer is experiencing the joys of being a parent - first steps, first day at school, riding a bike, passing a driving test, graduating from university - over and over again. “These are the memories that every parent treasures, and that foster carers get to enjoy, in a different way, with each and every placement,” he says. “As foster carers, we witness milestones almost every day, which nourish and energise our commitment to foster care. Just as we celebrate the top marks at school, and the next gymnastics badge, we celebrate the dry beds, the days without tantrums and the gentle healing of skin as the urge to self-harm abates.” 

Don’t underestimate how mentally exhausting it can be, but the reward of your foster child becoming an integral part of your family is worth it. Despite maybe not knowing how long a foster child may stay, foster carers ensure that the child is always treated as part of their family. “We all do chores, we all share in outings and holidays, and we all do it together,” says Paula. “This can be achieved with some great planning. It is very tiring and mentally exhausting, but also very rewarding. Seeing your placement succeed is the biggest thrill you can get, just little steps mean a lot.”

Dave and Mary, who have been foster carers for 12 years with The Foster Care Co-operative, agreed, adding: “Watching the children arrive all shy and nervous - then spending time with them, building confidence and self-esteem and watching them grow and progress has made us feel that we have really accomplished something.”

For information on becoming a foster carer in the UK, visit the government website. 

Source:
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

I had the pleasure recently to visit the Foster Care Co-operative, whose head office is based in Malvern, and which is a vibrant and successful non-profit brimming with purpose and values.

The co-op was set up in 1999 by Laurie Gregory after 30 years working with local authorities as a senior social worker and finishing as a Deputy Director of Children’s Services. Over that time, he also had personal experience of fostering, looking after a child with disabilities for 13 years. He saw the need to offer an alternative to private and venture capital funded agencies as foster care was increasingly outsourced to the market.

“I instinctively did not wish to start a ‘for profit’ company and, after meetings with my Chamber of Commerce and invaluable advice from Co-operatives UK, I chose the model of a multi-stakeholder co-op” he explained. “We have grown slowly by bringing new people to fostering.”

The staff are unionised with the GMB, and it is a stable and happy team; it was a pleasure to meet. There is a sense of dignity across the work, in the central team, across the foster carers and in their contact with the children who are looked after.

More widely, foster care is in difficult times. The contracting model of the outsourced market focuses less on the issue – the development of young people – and more on the management of the issue. With pressures on budgets, one of the challenges that commissioners face is matching cost and quality. The shift to look for the lowest cost, scoring less for quality can then generate other costs and unintended consequences, including worse outcomes for looked after children (an added challenge is the tendency of local authority commissioners to take an annualised view of budgets rather than look further out, planning more effectively over the years that a child might be with a foster carer).

“I have been to meetings where commissioners talk of unit costs, or annual unit costs. Call them children please, I say” comments the co-op’s Director, Ian Brazier.

In the current market, with a cut down model, national agencies are dominant – structured and financed through loans via Luxembourg to cut taxes, with taxable profits lost in the repayment of loans to the same owners. It was to understand the costs of a quality service that has been at the heart of a recent government stocktake of fostering (in England) – the Foster Care Co-operative was one of a handful of agencies to share data on an open book basis, to help them do that.

The co-op has contracts with 54 local authorities, but it refuses to bid for contracts that are set up to deliver a quality that is lower than the values of the co-op would countenance.

An example is the dedicated resource the coop employs to support foster carers with education and schooling for the children. One young person said: “The support my brother received from our carers has resulted in him going to university. After visiting him there, I think going to university is something I would like to experience too.”

The two outstanding indicators of the co-op’s success are the length of time spent with a carer and the outcomes in terms of what children go on to do when they reach adulthood. The average for a placement nationally is just four to six months. With the Foster Care Co-operative, the average is three and a half years. And every child that has left the co-op in recent years has gone on into work or education.

While foster care has to be seen as a later stage of support for children, stepping in where families can’t cope, the power of co-operation still makes a difference. The co-op is collaborating with other non-profits in the sector, working on the basis of shared values, and has launched a successful training programme in a joint venture with increasing take-up, to spread good practice. It is also piloting, with the local university, a programme to bring in foster carers with disabilities into the sector – a great potential example of asset-based social care.

The Foster Care Co-operative is an authentic non-profit, led by values and shaped by the participation of those involved across what is a vital service for young people in need.

Source:
https://edmayo.wordpress.com

Every year, Co-operatives UK welcome nominations for Co-operative of the Year. 

As the only not-for-profit co-operative operating in foster care in the UK, we thought we would go for the Inspiring Co-operative of the Year award.

You can vote for us here.  Simply click on the Inspiring Co-operative of the Year category, and give a few reasons as to why you are voting.

Nominations close on 29th April.

Thank you for your support!

Source:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk

Fostering has been in the news a lot recently.  We could mention the recent stories concerning the ‘cost’ of placing children with independent fostering agencies to be wildly more expensive than if the child is placed with in-house local authority carers.

Other stories have tarred all independent fostering agencies with the same brush, unfortunately labelling them as organisations who make huge profits from the misery of children.

The Foster Care Co-operative is an independent not-for-profit fostering agency.  It is unique in the UK due to its co-operative status – giving staff, carers and children a voice in the organisation.  We are a member of the Fairer Fostering Partnership that brings together ethical, not-for-profit fostering organisations.   We operate simply to run the service – so any surplus income is reinvested to provide more support and training for our carers.  We are a transparent, honest and fully child focussed fostering agency.

We thought we would put together a list of myths vs. facts, at least from our own approach to providing foster care. Most are concerned with the perceived barriers to fostering, but there are some about the sector – that will hopefully dispel any general misconceptions. 


Myth: I need qualifications to foster.
Fact: you don’t actually require any qualifications, as full training called ‘Skills to Foster’ will be provided.  This training will take place part the way through your assessment to become a foster carer. Then, if you are approved, you will have the opportunity to undertake further training to widen your skill set.

Myth: I can’t foster as a single person.
Fact: you can be married, single, living together, in a civil partnership or divorced.

Myth: I have to own my own house to foster.
Fact: you can rent or own – just as long as your home is safe, welcoming and comfortable.

Myth:  I can’t foster as I have a regular job.
Fact: you can foster and work – but a certain amount of flexibility would be helpful as school or nursery runs may have to be undertaken.

Myth:  The Foster Care Co-operative is not-for-profit, so I won’t be paid as a carer.
Fact: we pay a professional carer fee.  Any surplus income after expenses is ploughed straight back into providing more support and training for our carers.

Myth: I have my own children, so I can’t foster.
Fact: Many carers have their own children – we carefully match a child to your household.  Having your own children gives you valuable childcare experience that could be useful when a child is placed with you.

Myth: I heard that LGBT people can’t foster.
Fact: anyone can potentially become a carer, regardless of sexual orientation.  Fostering should be inclusive and diverse.

Myth: I need childcare experience to foster.
Fact: although childcare experience would be beneficial, full training called ‘Skills to Foster’ is provided.  You may actually have a certain amount of experience looking after or interacting with a friend’s child!

Myth: I’m 60, I’m too old to foster!
Fact: age is just a number!  A health assessment, that all potential foster carers have to take as part of the application process, will help determine if you are physically able to foster.

Myth: I can’t foster children with different religious beliefs to my own
Fact:  differing religious beliefs should not be a barrier - as long as you respect a child’s beliefs if they are different to yours. The most important thing is providing a safe and caring home environment.

Myth: all independent fostering agencies profit from foster care.
Fact: some agencies do profit from foster care, but there are a number of charity and not-for-profit agencies that constantly reinvest and don’t make a commercial profit – including The Foster Care Co-operative!

Myth: it’s more expensive to place a child with an independent agency than within a local authority.
Fact: some independent agencies charge more than others, but the cost to place a child has to include the running costs of the organisation such as staffing, insurance and premises costs.  Local authorities still have to pay these overheads, but when cost comparisons are made, they aren’t included – making the cost to place children with local authority carers seem a lot cheaper.

Myth: I think I am too young to foster.
Fact: You can actually apply to be a foster carer when you are 21 :-)

Myth: I can’t foster because I have pets.
Fact: A lot of children love pets, so other than any known allergies or fears, pets can be a good thing! 

Myth: I can't foster as I have a disability.
Fact: As long as you are able to care for a child, a disability shouldn’t preclude you from fostering.  The Foster Care Co-operative are currently participating in some research aimed at breaking down possible barriers that may stop disabled people from considering or becoming foster carers.

Myth: I can’t foster as I live in a flat.
Fact: The type of building you live in is irrelevant, as long as you have a spare bedroom and the flat is generally suitable for a child this shouldn’t be a barrier to fostering.


We hope that this has put the record straight in many areas concerned with the fostering task.  You can talk to us about any of the above points by calling 0800 0856 380, or you can contact us here.

If you are interested in fostering, and want to receive an application pack with no commitment, you can complete our short preliminary form which is here.

Source:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk

The Foster Care Co-operative was visited by Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, on Thursday 1st February. He was specifically looking at successful and innovative organisations operating as co-operatives.  He spent the time meeting the team and hearing about what they bring to the organisation.

Ed also visited Malvern Book Co-operative and Jamboree Co-operative whilst in the area.

Ed Mayo said: “For nearly twenty years the Foster Care Co-operative has shown what a difference it makes when an organisation is run by the people most involved, the foster carers and staff. The wider social care sector is gradually waking up to the importance of participation, something that the Foster Care Co-operative has pioneered for almost two decades. There is so much that can be learnt from this inspiring organisation.”