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Intensive fostering: Care, not custody

6 mins read
The American concept of intensive fostering is being piloted in England in an attempt to keep children out of prison. A year on, Michael Wale explains how it is working out.

It was Jackie Carvell's 15-year-old son who got her interested infostering. His best friend faced going into care at the age of 13 and hesuggested the boy move in with them for a few weeks.

But these few weeks turned into nine months before the boy returned tohis mother. It was then that single mum Jackie decided she wanted tobecome a permanent foster career.

Jackie, who lives in Hampshire and has been separated from her husbandfor five years, became a specialist remand foster carer, looking afterchildren on remand from the youth court. She found remand fostering sosatisfying that she signed up for an even more challenging role earlierthis year by agreeing to become an intensive foster carer, taking herfirst child in March.

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