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Foster Care Fortnight

by Bucks County Council – 14th May 2018
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fostering poster

Why do we need to talk about fostering you may ask?

For many people, fostering is not something that figures high, if at all, on their radar as they go about their day to day lives. Not everyone wants to or can foster, it has to be something that they genuinely want to do.

Foster Care Fortnight (14th -27th May) is a national campaign run by the Fostering Network that aims to celebrate the great work done by foster carers up and down the country and raise general awareness of the ongoing need for new foster carers to help look after children and young people in care.

In Buckinghamshire we want to get everybody talking about fostering. Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Warren Whyte explains: "We know that the desire to be a foster carer is not going to appeal to everyone and that is fine but we'd like to get people talking about fostering in general to raise awareness of the need and to get people thinking, even if they don't want to foster themselves, do they know someone who does?"

Warren continued: "We know that word of mouth is one of the best ways of recruiting new foster carers and so we want to build on that and get the whole of Bucks talking about fostering!"

During the fortnight we are hosting two fostering information sessions where people can come along and find out more about what is involved:

Thursday 17th May, County Hall, Aylesbury, HP20 1UA

Wednesday 23rd May, The Hub, Easton Street, High Wycombe, HP11 1NJ

Both events start at 7.00pm and give the opportunity to chat informally with our fostering social workers and current foster carers to find out more.

We are also asking businesses and organisations to join us in helping to recruit more foster carers and promote fostering. Last year Buckinghamshire County Council became a Fostering Friendly Employer meaning we offer additional support to employees who currently foster or who are going through the recruitment process to become foster carers.

The Fostering Friendly employer scheme is run by the Fostering Network and encourages employers to show their support for looked after children by supporting the foster carers who look after them. This can be done by adopting fostering friendly employment policies, such as offering foster carers flexible working and paid time off for training and settling a new child into their home.

To find out more about fostering and to book onto one of our information events visit: www.buckscc.gov.uk/fostering

To find out more about the Fostering Friendly Employer scheme visit: www.buckscc.gov.uk/fosteringfriendly

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