You see all of these adverts splattered around on TV, radio, billboards and bus-stops urging you to consider ?a career? in Foster Care, helping young children in need of a good home, and hear all these stories on the news about how they desperately need Foster Carers as there are just too many young people in the system needing homes etc. And yet if this is the case, why do they make it so difficult to get into Foster Caring in the first place?
One of my friends has been considering Foster Care for a long time now, and after years with a partner who didn?t want children, when they split up in January she decided she would get herself settled again and then start the wheels in motion to look into doing it herself. So she recently contacted her local council about obtaining an application pack, and today was rung by a representative to ?ask some further questions? about her lifestyle to see if she would be suitable to Foster?
After a 15 minute phone call, she came back to me very disheartened and frustrated as she?d been told she wasn?t suitable for Fostering. I asked her, how they could determine this in such a short amount on time, and wondered what on earth she could have said that would make them say no? Well these were the ?Eligibility Questions? which were asked as part of their survey to determine her suitability:
? Are you in a relationship?
o If yes, how long have you been in said relationship
o If no, when did your last relationship end and why
? Do you live in your own property, be it owned/rented?
o If yes:
 How long have you lived in your current property
 Do you have a spare bedroom
 Do you have pets
? Are you currently working?
? Do you smoke?
? Would you be willing to let us (the council) run a CRB check?
Her answers were: Split up with partner in January this year (so 6m ago) due to just growing apart after 4yrs together, live alone in a 2-bed rented accommodation for past two months (long-term lease) with a single cat, work full-time, occasional smoker, yes CRB is fine, however you (local council) yourselves already have one for me (as she is a freelance council-paid swimming teacher at the local leisure centre)?
She was looking at Fostering Primary to Secondary School aged children, so that she could still work during the day whilst they were at school, even if it was p/t in order to be able to support a child and their home, and also currently works from home 2days a week anyway, so would be able to be home to look after a child if needed? The response she got from the council was quite astonishing? That she wouldn?t be eligible for a number of reasons; she works full-time, has recently split up from a long-term partner and also recently moved home? When questioned about how she would be expected to support a child/teenager if she wasn?t working in some capacity, she was given the answer that the council supplies benefits to people who are unemployed and have dependants? She would be eligible for Income Support, Housing Benefit and some other Child-Care related Benefits in addition to the Carers Allowance?
I find this absolutely crazy!! If a person who has no other ties, is financially stable, has a secure job, a comfortable-sized home, is CRB-checked WITH said council themselves, and wants to help children by giving them a home is declined and told to leave their job and claim benefits then it?s a wonder why our country is in so much debt! You always hear these stories on the news etc. about how there are too many people on benefits, and yet the local councils themselves are encouraging people to do so?
My friend was utterly shocked at all of this, particularly as the women from the council didn?t even ask what she herself would class as relevant questions? So she could be a drunk, with no job, no other income, and live in run-down home with no furniture as long as it was a 2-bed, and still be eligible, however to be so secure, she is automatically declined? They never asked her where she worked, what hours, or what she did, how much she got paid (on quite good money, working for a reputable company), where she lived (lovely 2-bed cottage in the country, with a massive garden and plenty of space for a child), she has her own (family-sized) car and drives, doesn?t really drink, and has lots of close friends nearby with similarly aged children? Obviously is a swimming instructor for the council, and has plenty of experience with children from both this work, and previous. She has the flexibility with work to be able to do school runs, and work from home if the child is off-school for any reason, or as a last resort, has family and friends close by who could help in holidays when she couldn?t work from home.
I really can?t understand how this system can work, and what messages this sends to both the children involved and in general to those growing up? That not working, being on benefits and living off others is the way to move forward in life? That surely can?t be right??
I have a few friends and family members who have been Fostering for many years now, and find this such a rewarding thing to do? It?s not about the money you get, it?s about giving children a better chance at a future. And the way this system has been created, I personally don?t believe this is the right way of providing that better future?
Really sorry for the major post, but has anyone else experienced something similar to this? And has anyone successfully managed to get into the system without having to leave their jobs?