There are more than 7,000 children in the care system in Wales, but only 3,800 foster families.
There are currently 103 children in foster care in Blaenau Gwent.
Today, Foster Wales - the national network of 22 Welsh local authority fostering teams - set out with the bold aim of recruiting over 800 new foster families by 2026, to provide welcoming homes for local children and young people.
Foster Wales Blaenau Gwent has joined the new campaign, ‘bring something to the table,’ utilising their greatest asset – current foster carers – to share realistic experiences of foster care and explore the small but significant human attributes people possess that can make the world of difference to a young person in care.
Foster Wales has spoken to over 100 people to develop the campaign– including foster carers, social workers, teachers, members of the public, and care leavers.
The responses from these groups highlighted three key things stopping potential carers from enquiring:
- A lack of confidence in their skills and ability to support a child in care.
- The belief that fostering doesn’t fit with certain lifestyles.
- Misconceptions around the criteria to become a carer.
Armed with this knowledge, Foster Wales has drawn on real stories of carers in Wales to show that local authority fostering is flexible, inclusive, and comes with extensive training and professional development opportunities.
“We already had all the skills we needed to become foster carers – and more people need to know they have the skills too”
Sharon and Gareth have been foster carers in Blaenau Gwent for 25 years, offering both short term and long term placements. Sharon and Gareth believe that to be a foster carer, it’s helpful to be ‘warm, caring and able to advocate for the children in their care’, but they also believe that a persons background doesn’t have to be a barrier, stating that a foster carer can also be ‘your average person on the street, someone who has maybe been in care themselves, or have overcome lifestyle issues within their own family’.
Wales is leading the way in children’s services
Currently, Wales is in the process of a whole system change for children’s services.
The changes proposed in the 2021 co-operation agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru made a clear commitment to ‘eliminate private profit from the care of looked after children.’
This means, by 2027, care of children that are looked after in Wales will be provided by public sector, charitable or not-for-profit organisations, and the need for local authority foster carers is greater than ever.
The campaign begins on Monday 8 January across TV, streaming services, radio, digital, social media, and with various events in local communities across Wales.
For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry, visit:
Fostering in Blaenau Gwent | Foster Wales Blaenau Gwent (blaenau-gwent.gov.uk)
Or call or email Bethan, our recruitment officer, on 07966487592 or fostering@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk