It is hard to conceive of a more valuable role than that of assuming parental responsibility for children who have led troubled lives. Two-thirds of all looked-after children are in foster placements; the fate of more than 40,000 children lies in the hands foster carers.
Yet society puts foster caring near the bottom of the pecking order.
It barely attracts any financial reward. Sixty per cent of foster carers receive no more than a basic contribution towards costs and, since there is no minimum level set by Government, allowances vary widely between local authorities.
Nor do foster carers receive the accolades they deserve. Where is the public recognition of the courage and commitment of those who take on society's most damaged kids? We should scrap the honours system and distribute the gongs among those who have given something extraordinary to society - the willingness to assume parental responsibility for someone else's child.
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