Bid to recruit more foster carers in Rochdale

Rochdale desperately needs new foster carers.

The rate at which would-be foster parents drop out after showing an initial interest is higher in the borough than anywhere else in Greater Manchester.

Only 14 per cent of those who contacted Rochdale Council about fostering last year went on to complete an official enquiry form – the lowest rate of all the city region’s authorities.

The number of fostering households in the borough stood at 174 at the end of March – 15 fewer than the previous year, and this has contributed to a significant increase in the number of children being placed in residential care.

Sibling groups, those with special needs and older children are among those particularly affected.

And with the number of children needing a home outnumbering the number of carer-households – whether council or independent- every effort is now being made to attract potential new foster parents.

Jill McGregor, assistant director of children’s social care at Rochdale Council presented a report on the borough’s cared for children to members of the health, schools and care overview committee.

Members raised concerns that some foster carers in Rochdale were taking on children from outside the borough via independent providers, rather than going through the authority’s in-house service.

Ms McGregor said that it was important that the council offered would-be foster parents with a ‘wraparound’ support package based on an understanding of their needs.

And she said that while most carers were not driven by money, a review of payment schemes was in the offing.

She said: “The majority of foster carers are not financially motivated, they do it for altruistic reasons – they might have had positive experiences of being parents themselves, they might have responded to our campaigns in saying ‘yes, I have a unique skill-set’.

“But we need to recognise that if we are asking people to prioritise caring for our children we have to think about what the support offer is including the financial support.

“One of the biggest things that we know from our foster carers is it’s the support offer and the ‘wraparound’ support that makes a difference.

But she said that expert support would be more helpful than financial payments in some cases, such as when a foster child is becoming involved in taking drugs.

And, responding to a question from Councillor Lynne Brosnan, she explained how the authority was looking to bring in innovative ways of increasing support for carers.

Ms McGregor said: “One of things in the modernisation agenda we’re hoping to develop is the Mockingbird Scheme – having someone who is the main carer but with a number of other carers around them, like satellites, so replicating what happens in communities and families.”

She added “What we have to do is harness people’s natural skills and abilities to be supportive and helpful to one another, as you would with any family.”

One of the big challenges facing Rochdale is that its foster parents are ageing, and the borough is struggling to recruit enough to replace them as they retire.

However, Ms McGregor said that there was no upper-age limit to becoming a foster parent – although older people may need extra support.

And she added: “We are clear in saying there’s not just one set type of person that can be a foster carer.

“We have foster carers from same-sex couples, we have single carers, and we have a significant number of older carers."

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter