Fostering numbers improve by nearly 25% in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire County Council has increased the number of children placed in internal foster care placements by almost 25% since last year – and is calling for more people to help provide safe and loving homes for children in need.
By the end of March 2018, 125 of our looked after children were placed within internal foster care placements. Since then, as of 4 February 2019, 156 children were placed in Buckinghamshire County Council foster placements – an increase of around 24% on the previous year.
Warren Whyte, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “Buckinghamshire’s fostering team works extremely hard all year round to find safe and loving homes for children in need, and this is an absolute priority for us. We are very pleased with the increase in our foster care placements since last year, but we are always working to improve this.
“We have an amazing group of people who help us look after these children, but we still need more like them to come forward and become foster carers.
“To encourage people to foster for Bucks, we have improved allowances and support over recent months. We also have a number of recruitment and information events coming up over 2019. So, if you are interested in becoming a foster carer, please contact us to find out more.”
· The council has recently introduced new and improved weekly allowances, which means the terms offered by BCC is now more closely aligned with those of independent fostering agencies.
· A Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) clinical psychologist is also available to foster carers every week. They can offer support relating to the child being cared for, or help with any of the carer’s other concerns.
· A series of fostering events will outline information about the fostering assessment process and training available, and answer any other questions people may have.
The next will be held at New County Offices in Walton Street, Aylesbury, on Wednesday, 20 February (7-8.30pm), then High Wycombe on 13 March and Buckingham on 29 May, with more throughout 2019.
A full list of events can be found at https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/care-for-children-and-families/fostering/fostering-information-event/.
If you would like more information about fostering, please call 0800 160 1900 or email fosterwithbucks@buckscc.gov.uk