Agencies innovate to recruit foster carers

A significant fall in the number of enquiries from prospective foster carers in the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted one of the largest voluntary sector fostering agencies to warn of a potential shortage of placements in the coming months.

Figures published last month by Barnardo’s showed that it received 161 enquiries about fostering from 1 March to 23 April compared to 302 in the same eight-week period the year before – a fall of 47 per cent.

The charity says the drop – which takes in the first four weeks of the coronavirus lockdown – has been caused by the increased economic uncertainty created by the pandemic.

It warns that if more foster carers aren’t found, “hundreds of children referred to Barnardo’s will not be placed with a family”.

In 2018/19, Barnardo’s placed 857 children with foster carers, and has called on “people over 21, who have a spare room and the time and commitment to support a child” to come forward.

Council foster care services have also been affected by the pandemic. In Lincolnshire, around nine per cent of foster carers have been unavailable due to shielding.

Meanwhile, Lancashire Council used facilities at an outdoor activity centre to provide emergency accommodation for young people needing a placement, with each lodge being able to accommodate one young person and two staff.

Emergency appeals

Bristol City Council launched an emergency appeal to find more foster carers because of concerns some existing carers will need to shield due to being at heightened risk of contracting Covid-19 due to their age (see box).

The Fostering Network’s State of the Nation 2019 report found that 42 per cent of 4,000 foster carers who responded were aged 55 or over (see graphics).

Chief executive of The Fostering Network, Kevin Williams, says: “Many existing foster carers are under significant strain and will need to take time out of fostering, or may indeed be considering stopping fostering.

He says: “Some have been under financial pressure as they have not been able to look after children due to the coronavirus, perhaps because they were shielding or they usually offer short breaks which have not been happening. Others may have lost their jobs outside of fostering and be financially struggling to meet the needs of the children in their care.”

Despite the concerns, Williams says there is no uniform picture with regards to the impact the pandemic has had on enquiries.

“The number of enquiries is varying from one fostering service to another – some report an increase in enquiries, others are undertaking emergency recruitment drives.”

For example, The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (Tact) reported an 11 per cent rise in the number of enquiries between March and May compared to 2019, stoked by “a combination of people reassessing what they want to do with their lives and thinking about fostering, and also people losing jobs/being furloughed and looking at other options”, says Tact chief Andy Elvin.

However, Williams adds that the “recruitment and retention of foster carers is going to be essential in the coming months” if the anticipated spike in care referrals when children return to school occurs, and calls for help from policymakers.

“The sector urgently needs a workable government-funded retention scheme and we have written to ministers in all four UK countries about this,” he adds.

“Now is the time for the governments of the UK to ensure that foster carers are properly supported financially, emotionally and practically.

“In the coming months, as well as the usual recruitment activity that will be taking place, the skills and experience of current foster carers are going to be needed – and must be recognised – so that children coming into foster care have the best possible experience.”

Uncertainty over the future is likely to exacerbate the existing foster carer shortage – last year, the network estimated 8,500 additional carers were needed to keep pace with increasing numbers of children in care.

Tact says the shortage of foster carers is particularly acute for teenagers and sibling groups. While it is “working hard” to convert increased interest into more carers – and has moved recruitment processes online to make it quicker – Elvin remains concerned about a lack of support from policymakers.

Lack of funding

“We are worried that the refusal of the Department for Education to ringfence extra funding for foster carers to help with the extra costs they have faced during lockdown will have an effect on retention,” he says.

To counter this, councils have been innovative in how they attract and approve prospective foster carers during the pandemic. For its emergency recruitment campaign, Bristol used a fast-track process so that applications were approved within three weeks.

Others like Lincolnshire used social media more, generating a third more enquiries than the year before.

Sheffield Council responded to an initial fall in enquiries by undertaking a recruitment drive through local media, social media, blogs and virtual information, and training events. Wirral and Warwickshire report similar experiences.

In anticipation of a rise in referrals in September, Norfolk Council has run live Q&A sessions, podcasts and digital campaigns with the result that applications are up by a third.

Ofsted data shows that in 2018/19, 7.5 per cent of the 127,850 initial enquiries to foster progressed to an application and of those, two-thirds were approved within the year, highlighting the uphill challenge to turn expressions of interest into placements.

BRISTOL RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Bristol City Council has more than 300 foster carers, a “large proportion” of whom are retirees and at heightened risk from coronavirus.

Faced with this situation and in anticipation of “an increase in the number of children who will need support and care”, the council undertook an urgent appeal for more people to become emergency foster carers.

In April, it launched a social media campaign raising awareness of the increased need for foster carers. Within a fortnight, it had generated 300 enquiries from people interested in offering their homes to foster children during the pandemic – or longer.

A temporary fast-track application process was established that enabled emergency foster carers to be approved within three months, half the normal time. An intensive assessment process and a 24-hour support programme was also introduced. Skilled and experienced carers provided guidance and expertise in one-to-one roles via video calls.

Councillor Helen Godwin, cabinet member for children and families at the council, says the good response is partly due to the work done in recent years to make foster carer recruitment a priority.

“For some time, the council has looked to work with organisations across the city on foster carer recruitment,” she says. “That ground work has helped us with this.”

Of the 300 enquiries from the appeal, 63 are going through the assessment process, 19 have been recommended for approval and 13 are looking after a child.

“A proportion of our foster carers are elderly and we were concerned some may become ill and may not be able to look after young people in their care,” Godwin says. “The appeal was for short-term foster carers, but many have said they are looking to help for longer.

“We had a shortfall of foster carers already, so Covid has sped up some of the work we’ve wanted to do around recruitment. We’re pleased with the way it has gone, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”