Fostering hopes of a happy family

But not enough people are becoming foster carers - and councils across the country are facing a chronic shortage.

Wolverhampton is typical of this, with the authority currently having 160 on the books, but with 770 looked after children across the city the figure is nowhere near enough.

Val has been a foster carer for nine and a half years, looking after newborn babies and children up to the age of five.

The former staff member at Stowlawn School says she experiences 'great joy' at caring for youngsters in desperate need of a home.

She said: "I love babies, and to see them blossom is the main reason why I am so keen to give them a home."

Mrs Baker readily admits that fostering can be challenging.

One baby that lived with her for 10 months was suffering from drug withdrawals after the child inhaled paraphernalia that was strewn around his biological parents' house.

But the child recovered and is now healthy, an example, Val says, of how rewarding being a foster carer can be.

"I feel privileged to be able to offer a child, who has not had the best of starts in life – an opportunity of happiness," she said.

Val's has looked after a total of twenty-one children – each with a range of care needs.

"All the children I have cared for were all part of the family, it was really important to me that I treated each child as my own.

"To me it didn't matter how challenging their behaviour was, it's not the fault of the child."

Val says she is keen for more people to take up fostering.

She added: "If you can offer a child a home who really needs one then it is the most rewarding thing you can ever do in life.

It needs to recruit a minimum of 35 foster carers this year alone.

The shortage means that some families in the city have fostered more than 100 children, while the authority has also be forced to use the services of costly private agencies.

The dearth of foster carers is a national issue, with local authorities across the country facing a constant battle to recruit more suitable families to look after an ever increasing number of children.

More than 50,000 of the 63,000 children in care in the UK live with foster families and the vast majority will spend their entire childhoods in foster care, while some will return home or live with other family members.

It is estimated that more than 6,700 children are living with foster parents across the West Midlands, and the figure is growing each year.

To coincide with Foster Care Fortnight, Wolverhampton City Council has launched a recruitment drive in a bid to attract more suitable families into fostering.

But Councillor Val Gibson, the city's cabinet member for children and families, said finding the right carers is no easy task.

"There is a big need for foster carers that we are trying to address," said Councillor Gibson, who also sits on the authority's fostering panel.

"We need people who are willing to share their homes and lives with youngsters who require support.

"It's a demanding role, but we know there are people out there who can make a difference."

In an effort to address the shortfall the council has brought in a range of support and training programmes to assist foster carers.

This includes a support service operated by the Heantun Group, which offers round-the-clock advice, guidance and training to carers.

Training programmes are also available to teach carers how to keep youngsters safe and how to handle difficult situations.

If the council doesn't have a suitable family to foster a child, it is forced to use an agency. As well as being a far more costly exercise, it also means the authority does not have the same level of control over the child's welfare.

Agencies generally pay foster carers more money that local authorities, but the level of support offered can be less, while the gaps between taking children may be bigger.

"We have put a concerted effort into bringing in carers to Wolverhampton City Council so we don't have to use agency staff," councillor Gibson added.

Craig is in a same-sex relationship with partner Dean and says he was initially concerned about the idea of fostering, despite a desire to get involved with raising children.

In simple terms, the former Royal Mail worker didn't know if he'd be allowed to do it.

"As it turned out it was the complete opposite," he said.

"Once I applied everyone was very supportive and made the process straightforward. I cannot thank them enough."

Craig recently left his job of 20 years to take up foster caring full time because he wanted to focus all of his attention on raising a child.

He and Dean have a nine year old boy who they have looked after since the age of five.

The couple want to become long term carers and hope to take the boy into their home on a permanent basis once they are married later this year.

"We would love to file for adoption," said Craig. "It would be the icing on the cake."

Craig offers some advice for people in same-sex relationships who think fostering might not be for them.

He said: "It doesn't matter what your sexuality is, the team treat you exactly the same as they would a heterosexual couple.

"We are not in a position to monitor the support children get when an agency has been used, so we are keen for carers to come to us directly.

"Becoming a foster carer can be an isolating experience in times of crisis, particularly for first time carers.

"We feel we have the right mechanisms in place to deal to support people effectively.

"All of our foster carers are allocated social workers and we try to keep pairings together so the relationship builds.

"Sometimes that doesn't happen with agencies."

As with other areas of the country, there is a particular demand for carers willing to take older children in Wolverhampton.

Traditionally many foster parents request to look after younger children, partly through fear that teenagers may be 'damaged goods' or more difficult to deal with.

To combat this Wolverhampton City Council operates a '0-18' policy, meaning anyone registered as a foster carer with the authority can be asked to look after children of all ages up to 18 years.

Councillor Gibson added: "There's a real misconception that babies are easy to deal with and older children are more complicated.

"A child is taken from its home for a number of reasons and younger children can have complex needs that can be really challenging to deal with.

"It's a major challenge for us to get the message across that it's not just babies that need a loving and caring home.

"We are fortunate enough to have some wonderful carers who are willing to stick with children no matter what their age or how difficult their issues are.

"We simply need more people to come forward who feel they can take on this role."

Another key challenge for the authority is keeping children in the city.

The Fostering Network warned that not being able to find the right foster carer means that children too often have to live a long way from family, friends and school and are split up from their brothers and sisters.

This can have a hugely detrimental effect on children's education, wellbeing and ability to make and maintain relationships.

Daphne Atkinson, a senior consultant social worker, said: "What we really want to see are carers from Wolverhampton looking after our local children.

"By keeping children with local families we can keep them at local schools and minimise the disruption to their lives.

"Wolverhampton is a cross cultural community and we are looking for people to come forward from all types of backgrounds."

For information on becoming a foster carer visit wolverhampton.gov.uk/fostering