Foster Care: 'The children need a helping hand'
Two years ago Claire Whelan was at a crossroads. Fed up with flitting from job to job after leaving the pub trade, she knew something had to change.
Then the mum-of-one spotted an advert appealing for foster carers and her life was transformed.
With the support of husband Stewart, 48, and 10-year-old daughter Charlotte, she has taken in four young people in the past 20 months – same of whom have been abused or neglected and struggled with behavioural problems as a result.
Despite some testing times, the family, from Bryony Way, Waterlooville, are now applying to take on a fifth vulnerable young person – and Claire wouldn't change a thing.
'I absolutely love it,' says the 36-year-old. 'It's the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
'It doesn't matter what these young people go through, they get up every morning with a smile on their face. If some of those things had happened to me I don't know how I would have coped.
'To them it's just something that's happened. It's their story and part of their life.'
Claire spent six months researching foster care and underwent rigorous checks before being taken on by independent agency Foster Care Associates.
It then took another nine months of interviews before a 12-strong panel approved her application in September 2007.
Two months later Claire welcomed her first young person – a 15-year-old girl who has not been named to protect her identity – into her home.
'It's very exciting but also nerve-wracking,' says Claire. 'Ultimately you're inviting them into your home to stay when sometimes you don't know anything about them. And you don't necessarily know how long they are going to be there for.
'She didn't want to be in this area and said she would only stay for the weekend. She self-harmed and had made allegations against members of her family.
'She stayed for 16 weeks which was quite amazing. She was very volatile. She had lots and lot of problems emotionally.'
Claire adds: 'She had a big hearing coming up where they were going to be deciding ultimately whether they were going to send her back to where she came from.
'The stress of that sent her over the edge and she absconded back to where she lived before. But she's a very special person. She's 17 now and she's amazing. These young people are very resilient.'
It took Claire one-and-a-half hours to convince the second young person she fostered – a 13-year-old girl – even to get out of the car.
She stayed with the Whelans for nine weeks, closely followed by a teenager from the Gambia.
Then the 15-year-old girl who now lives with the Whelans arrived. Since then her school attendance has rocketed from 60 per cent to 100 per cent, she has been accepted at college and is on course to achieve five GCSEs at grade C or above.
Now the Whelans are hoping to care for her until she is 18. 'She's just fantastic,' says Claire.
'When I think about all of the emotional trauma she's had, to still have a smile on her face is amazing.'
Claire is among 125 people working for Foster Care Associates in the south. But with about 10,000 young people on the waiting list for a placement, more foster carers are desperately needed.
Now the organisation is appealing for more people to come forward and give fostering a try.
'For anyone who is looking for a rewarding career, fostering is certainly a worthwhile option to consider providing you are truly committed to the task,' says Foster Care Associates carer recruitment manager Marie-Louise Allred.
'Once people make that initial enquiry to find out about fostering, they're often surprised how suited they are to the role.
'We urge anyone who is looking for a new job to think carefully about fostering. Yes, it can be challenging but with the right support and training it can be rewarding.'
Claire adds: 'The support network you need is very vast. I have lost friends to this, but I have also gained masses of friends.
'You also need to have a realisation that you are not going to change these young people. Most of them are not going to want to be here.
'They are not going to want to be loved or cuddled or have arms wrapped round them. Most of them just want to feel safe and secure and that's it – bottom line.'
She adds: 'The hardest thing about this is letting them go. In 20 months of doing it I have never thought "Oh, God, what am I doing" because it's fantastic.
'It feels natural. You have to be a special person to do it at all. You need patience, empathy,training, support and love what you do – and you have to have 100 per cent commitment.'
24-HOUR SUPPORT
Foster Care Associates is the UK's largest independent foster care agency with a network of 80 offices.
It offers carers a 24-hour support service and on-going training to ensure they are fully equipped for fostering.
The organisation uses a 'team parenting' approach to ensure each foster child and carer is supported by a network of professionals including a dedicated social worker, therapist, education liaison officer and support worker.
They are on-hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide advice and guidance. Foster Care Associates will consider applications from anyone aged 18 or over.
THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN ARE HELPING EACH YEAR
Who are looked-after children?
Children in local authority care, who are placed with
foster carers, in residential homes, with family or
accepted for adoption. There are about 59,500 in England
How many children are fostered?
Foster care currently accounts for 71 per cent – 42,300 of all placements.
What is fostering?
The temporary placement of children and young people whose own parents are unable to look after them with foster families.
How does it differ from adoption?
Adoption is for life and all parental rights pass to the adoptive family. In fostering rights remain with the birth parents.
How many more carers are needed?
A government report states a shortfall of 8,200 foster carers in England.
Why are children fostered?
They are placed in foster care because of complex and chaotic childhood
experiences.
According to government figures, 62 per cent of looked-after children in England suffered abuse or neglect.
What kind of children are fostered?
More than half – 59 per cent – are aged between five and 15. Of those looked after in 2008, 56 per cent were boys.
How long is a fostering arrangement?
Anything from overnight, a weekend or a few days, to several months or many years. The average is three-to-six months, although long-term foster care might mean a child's entire teenage years are spent with a foster family.
Are there different kinds of fostering?
As well as long-term care, there's emergency fostering, where it's essential to remove a child from a situation, short break or respite fostering and short-term arrangements.
Who can become a foster carer?
Anyone aged 18 or over who passes Criminal Records Bureau checks. Carers should be in good physical and mental health and be either the owner, co-owner or tenant of their property. There should also be a spare room in the home for the sole use of the foster child.
How long does the application take?
It normally takes about six months and involves visiting your home, meeting your partner and children if you have them and personal referees.
What about payment?
Foster carers receive a weekly allowance to cover the cost of caring for a child at home.
INFORMATION
Visit Foster Care Associates at iwanttofoster.co.uk, call 0800 085 2225 or 02380 291050. Visit everychildmatters.gov.uk or e-mail fostering@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or call (023) 9282 9486.
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