Range of measures can fix foster carer shortage

When councils start offering payments of £1,500 to foster carers to sign up, as Oxfordshire announced last autumn, you know that it must be challenging times to recruit fostering families.

That local authorities are prepared to offer financial inducements to attract new foster carers should not be surprising – latest Ofsted data shows the number of new foster carers approved last year failed to keep pace with the rise in the number of children in care prompting the inspectorate to warn of a sector in “crisis” (see special report).

Councils saw a fall in foster care households in 2020/21, increasing the pressure to recruit more carers, whether new to the sector or already registered with another agency. Incentive fees are part of that equation and despite some raising concerns about this approach, it is unlikely to go away, unless outlawed by legislators (see analysis).

Many of the handful of councils currently offering incentive payments introduced them recently so are unsure if they work. Children’s services leaders think incentives will reduce councils’ costs and so more areas will use them, but others point out that money is rarely the key factor in whether a person becomes a foster carer.

High-quality training, adequate living allowances and good support from social workers and peers are the key factors in joining an agency – married with a passion to help disadvantaged children. When it comes to support, schemes like Mockingbird highlight the value of councils constructing a network of foster carers in a locality who offer help, advice and a shared sense of caring for each other (see practice example). It is a programme that should be available in every area.

Better financial and peer support are crucial to recruit and retain more foster carers. A third vital element is the need for a national far-reaching campaign to increase awareness of foster care, similar to those run for adoption. Such a campaign should be multi-platform, co-ordinated by the government and repeated regularly to ensure it has the maximum impact. It could build on the successful short films already developed by the West Midlands Regional Fostering Recruitment Forum (see practice example).

Just one in 16 people who express an interest in fostering now submits an application. We need a multi-faceted package of measures to improve that “conversion” rate. Until then, there will continue to be a shortage of foster carers, the consequence of which will be increased competition between councils and agencies for those who remain.

• Derren Hayes is editor of Children & Young People Now