PETITION: Better support for people applying to be foster carers.

[EastCowes52]

My petition:

Protect people applying to be foster carers in the UK.

To ensure people going through an assessment to become foster carers are protected from potential wrongdoing by a culture of openness, honesty and transparency within the nation’s Children’s Services depts. And where mistakes do happen, those applying are offered a clear route to complain.

(1) Halt all current fostering assessments, to give social services depts a chance to check those applying are happy.

(2) Offer all future applicants a named support worker, who they can turn to if they think an assessment is going wrong. As has been done by ESCC, following a serious complaint about the conduct of one such assessment.

(3) For a break to be inserted in all future fostering assessments, so the welfare of applicants can be checked. As in ESCC.

Click this link to sign the petition:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/616584/sponsors/new?token=krYl-4YO4wQt6wsOz_pg

What happened for you to start the petition?

During an applicant to foster you will be allocated a social worker to undertake the assessment. They will work closely with the family to ensure all are happy to commit to fostering. At any time applicants can request a short break due assessment to reflect but the process is a minimum of 3/4 months. This should be enough time to check in with yourself and people you trust to ensure if this is something you want to continue with. At any time you can withdraw from the assessment if you feel it is not right.

I work as a social worker and know of many people who have decided fostering isn’t right for them during the assessment process. Some have come back later when they are in a different position or had time to think.