At the start of our fostering campaign we heard from one of our foster families about what life is like looking after a child in care. This week we鈥檙e finding out what it鈥檚 like working on the other side - the ones who support foster carers and young people.
P站色情片鈥檚 Practice Lead for Fostering, Lorraine Prentice, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital that our foster carers feel supported and we are always available at the end of the phone to help. Every foster carer is assigned a supervising social worker who will visit them at least once a month to check that everything is okay. This visit is recorded and an action plan is developed for any tasks that need to be followed up. Alongside this, all foster children in placements have their own social worker who visits them regularly.
鈥淲e hold two Foster Carers Days per year, which gives everyone the opportunity to meet up with other carers and undertake training. There are also a number of local support groups throughout the area that meet regularly.鈥
So how are children assigned to foster carers? The matching process varies depending on each child鈥檚 circumstances, but the foster carer is always fully involved in developing a transition plan. The foster carer is given lots of information about the young person before their identity is disclosed. This enables the carer to consider the young person鈥檚 needs realistically, and decide whether they can meet those needs or not.
Lorraine said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that foster carers don鈥檛 feel emotionally pressured into accepting a match if it鈥檚 not what鈥檚 best for them or the child. I strive to develop the best support possible for all carers with my team, and seeing the energy and commitment that they also have to this area of work is very satisfying.
鈥淪ocial workers take on this career to try to make a difference to other people鈥檚 lives, and this is one field which this can be done to great effect - when everyone around the child works together.
鈥淭he best thing about my job is getting to know people who come forward to care for other peoples鈥 children, and seeing them embrace the child, taking them into their homes and lives. The difference that can make to a child is immeasurable, and very rewarding for all parties.鈥
To find out more about fostering in P站色情片 and Bute, visit: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/fostering