New ways of connecting children to families to care for them

Five Rivers Child Care shares one of the ways it looks to help create a supportive and caring family environment around children who have been in a children’s home and need to be nearer their siblings.

An important piece of work is carried out with children when they are ready to step across into foster families. This work involves a multi-disciplinary assessment of the child’s needs, a core part of which is taking all that we have learnt and come to know about a child to help to find them a suitable foster home.

We have recently seen news of how thousands of siblings are separated in care and the devastating impact this can have. Navigating complex family structures, whilst safely meeting children’s needs and wishes, to find a suitable home in the wake of a serious deficit of foster families can be challenging. 

For some children, their trust in adults has been lost and often their early experiences of losing contact with family, friends, changing schools and feeling uncertain about their future means it can take time to re-build their confidence.

In response to this challenge, we have developed a tool to help children to feel a part of their next step. The care team and psychologists who support the children we look after use a safe, therapeutic space to have sensitive discussions with children about how they see themself and their needs as part of their ‘stepping on’ process. This is the time when children are ready to move from a children’s home, into a foster family.

“This tool is helpful for all children, many have lost their way and may not be sure of themselves or what they want”. Pamela McConnell Founder of Five Rivers Child Care says, “Any parent or aunty or teacher can use this way of helping to understand how the child sees themselves and what they want from the people around them. We all can connect much better using a simple but effective tool like this.”

In a new move and in response to not being able to find a suitable home close to a child’s siblings (and in agreement with the child) Five Rivers has widely shared this Pen Picture to see if a personal portrait drawn up by the child speaks directly to the very family who could offer the best match for them.

“This is a highly sensitive issue and one that needs to be managed with the deepest of care and consideration. We know that human stories resonate with people, we also know that there can be a negative view of children in care. We hope that by sharing pictures, we may find a home close to siblings and it may also serve as a reminder that children in care are ‘regular’ children who need security, love and understanding as all children do.”

Pamela McConnell is chief executive at Five Rivers Child Care.