HUNDREDS of people have asked about becoming foster parents across the North West as a campaign to tackle the local shortage and give children new homes builds momentum.

The You Can Foster campaign launched last month and is aiming to recruit new local authority fostering households across the North West, including Cumbria.

RELATED ARTICLE: Call to tackle chronic foster carer shortage in Cumbria

The latest drive is to address the increased number of children looked after and to replace the high numbers who are leaving the system due to retirement.

Across Cumbria, 497 children are in foster placements and Cumbria County Council already supports more than 230 foster homes but more are needed.

In Cumbria every year around 12 per cent of foster carers leave the service so there is a need to keep numbers consistent.

Case study


Wendy and Lee Towers.

Wendy Towers, who lives in west Cumbria and fosters for Cumbria County Council with her husband, Lee, is backing You Can Foster.

She said: "We got into foster care five years ago and we haven’t looked back.

"It breaks my heart to think that there are so many children out there without the loving and secure home they deserve. Fostering is the most rewarding job I've ever had.

"If you're thinking about fostering, then go for it. Pick up the phone today to find out more, support is always available from other foster carers and social workers so you won’t have to go it alone."

Extra need

Cumbria has a particularly need for foster carers who are able to care for:

- Brothers and sisters

- Older children

- Children who need a long term permanent home with foster carers

- Children with complex or additional needs

- Children who need to become looked after in an emergency situation

Fostering

You Can Foster aims to dispel some of the myths around who can and can't foster and the Cumbrian team offers many support packages, including fostering payments, a training programme, an allocated social worker and tax relief.

There are lots of different types of foster caring. These include short term, long term, emergency fostering and fostering to adopt. Foster carers can also provide cover while parents or regular foster carers have a break. This is usually in cases where children are disabled, have special needs or have behavioural difficulties.

The number of youngsters in the care of social services in the Barrow borough went up by a third between 2010 and 2015.


Anne Burns. Councillor Anne Burns, cabinet member on Cumbria County Council for children's services and member for Hindpool, said: "If you're considering fostering don’t rule yourself out, contact us to find out more, you could make the difference for a child looked after in Cumbria."

The campaign says a lack of foster carers can lead to children having to live a long way from family, school and friends or being split up from brothers and sisters.

For more information about fostering with Cumbria County Council click here or call 0303 333 1216 to speak to a member of the fostering team.