Member News: Break - Foster Care Fortnight - Who can be a foster carer?

During #FCF19 we are exploring all things fostering.

Who can be a foster carer?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to fostering. The answer is simple. We welcome foster carers from many different backgrounds in terms of relationship status, ethnicity, age, sexuality and religious belief. 

You can become a foster carer regardless of whether you have had children of your own. We welcome people who have never been foster carers or who are experienced foster carers. 

Whatever your experience we will support and develop you. We always work hard to match foster carers and child very carefully.

Contact us
​If you want to find out more about becoming a Break Foster Carer in Norfolk get in touch today at [email protected], call 01603 670100 or download our Foster Carers' Guide. Find out who can be a Foster Carer here.

Meet Eddie's foster parents - Case Study

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My partner and I have been caring for 10-year-old Eddie since 2018. He has really started to grow in confidence and is even learning to make friends since he has been part of our family. 

Eddie was confused and anxious when he came to us. He had been through terrible trauma, which shaped his behaviour. It was hard for us to see him become upset and angry and hard to be the target of his angry behaviour. But things are getting better now as he settles in.

Eddie’s sense of humour is coming to the fore and we have great fun together. We enjoy taking him out on his bike, to the beach, trampolining... Recently we all went on holiday to Dorset. He is doing better at school and loves his maths, reading and writing. He is more able to talk about his feelings and to cope with life’s ups and downs.

We take Eddie to see his parents, brother and sister and the rest of his family, who live a long way away. We feel glad that his mum and dad are happy with the care we are giving their son.

The Break Fostering service has been very supportive. It’s extremely useful getting together with other foster carers to share experiences at the monthly support groups. We have a supervising social worker who meets with us regularly and there is training and support covering all aspects of caring for children in a therapeutic way. We find all of this invaluable and we have learnt a lot about parenting children who have experienced trauma.

We are really glad we decided to foster and we would recommend anyone applying to Break to be a foster carer. The assessment process is very thorough and we cannot tell you that caring for a child is all plain sailing, because it can be tough and it’s important people know this. But we can tell you that the personal rewards are great, and when we see Eddie’s progress it’s a wonderful feeling. 

We feel Eddie is beginning to understand our commitment to his learning and growth. He has begun to talk about the future, planning for his secondary school and, most importantly, he is enjoying being a young boy again.​

Could you become a foster carer?
If you care about children and believe you can help us to change young lives. Fostering can play a huge part in transforming a young life, helping them to become happy, secure and successful young people.

Foster carers need to be able to value young people and to be able to commit to care for young people with sometimes complex needs and all this entails. We want foster carers who are aware there will be challenging times, and also rewarding ones, and who are able to work with the child at the child’s own pace and, above all, be able to provide a loving and caring home.

Find out more today by emailing [email protected] call 01603 670100 or download our Foster Carers' Guide.

Source:
http://break-charity.org