Press Release: For Children Not Profit

The Fairer Fostering Partnership (FFP) is a group of charitable and not-for-profit fostering agencies across the UK whose members look after  more than 2,000 children in care.

We are seeking to promote understanding of the difference between our  members, and the commercial fostering agencies owned by private and  venture capital companies that make significant profits for shareholders.

To that end, our members will be using this hashtag - #forchildrennotprofit - on all our social media platforms to support that message.

FFP members work purely for children, not for profit, and in a financially  strapped sector funded by taxpayers helping thousands of vulnerable  children in care, it is important that local authorities and foster carers are able to make an informed choice as to which fostering providers they  work with.

Andy Elvin, the FFP Chair, said: “All our members’ resources are invested  in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and young people, and not  in making a profit from them. This transparency and accountability is  welcomed by local authorities and foster carers alike, but we need to  continue promoting the message that excessive profits are being made by some agencies at a time when there is less money in the system. That  clearly can’t be a good thing for children in care.”

FFP membership covers the whole of the UK, and includes TACT, Action for Children and Barnardo’s (to name a few), providing foster care for  thousands of children.

Working in partnership with children’s services and dedicated foster  carers, FFP members put children before profit by re-investing any surplus back into the care of children and young people.

FFP endeavours to increase Local Authorities and Trusts’ understanding  of the difference between investing in children or adding to shareholder profit.

Each FFP member has its own unique and distinctive approach to  fostering. All offer a variety of trained, well supported, and experienced  carers and staff, plus a service package tailored to the best possible outcomes for each individual child or young person.

The Fairer Fostering Partnership believes that where a surplus is made, it should be re-invested into children’s services; and that excessive profit  has no place in the care of vulnerable children.

We are confident that the current DfE commissioned Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will address this issue and this issue has been flagged up by the Care  Review and in the Promise in Scotland which has been accepted by the  Scottish Government.

ENDS

Information for Editors

The Fairer Fostering Partnership (formerly Fostering through Social  Enterprise) was set up in 2007 to represent the views, perspectives and  experience of a number of charitable and not for profit independent  fostering providers.

The current Fairer Fostering Partnership members are:

• Action for Children
• All4U Fostering
• Barnardo's
• Break
• The Children's Family Trust
• Community Foster Care
• The Foster Care Co-operative
• Fostering Families
• Kasper Fostering
• New Routes Fostering
• SAfER Fostering
• St Christopher's
• The Adolescent and Children's Trust (TACT)
• Team Fostering
• Together Trust
• Young People At Heart

Our core aims are:

• to ensure any surplus raised by member organisations is re-invested into supporting children in placement and beyond
• to offer transparency in dealings with all stakeholders
• to promote the elimination of discrimination against children and young people in care
• to promote good practice through networking, and supporting each organisation within the membership
• to improve policy and practice through lobbying.

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