Apply today, and do something amazing
Apply today, and do something amazing
There are many reasons why you should foster for your local community.
Fostering is a really rewarding role which makes a massive difference to vulnerable children and young people. It literally changes lives.
If you are thinking of fostering, it can be quite confusing trying to work out what will be the best way forward for you and the children you will care for.
The natural choice is your council
While searching for the right fostering service for you, you may have come across Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs), which are mostly profit-making businesses.
The best route to fostering local children is with Barking and Dagenham Council.
Coming into care is very unsettling for a child.
Having to move to an unfamiliar area can make this trauma worse, especially as it can involve a very long journey to and from school. They may not be able to see friends and family as easily, or continue with hobbies and clubs they may be involved in.
Council foster carers will have local children placed with them, which generally leads to much more positive outcomes for the children.
Agency foster carers can have children placed with them who are many miles away from their home and schools.
You wont have to travel miles and miles.
Barking and Dagenham Council’s training is provided locally.
Our support team and network are never far away. We have support groups within the local community.
Travel to schools and colleges will be short journeys for our children.
Many agency foster carers need to travel long distances for this.
Lots of regional fostering agency offices have closed over the last few years, which has meant their carers need to travel even further for training and support.
Councils are the ones responsible for the care of children from newborn up to the age of 18.
Barking and Dagenham Council will always place children with their own foster carers first.
They only look to place children with agency foster carers when there are no suitable council carers with space
Council’s will place children with their own carers because they have recruited, assessed and trained them.
Council foster carers are local, so are often able to keep children close to their friends, family and school.
It costs us, as the local authority, a lot more to place the child with an agency carer.
Agency foster carers often wait for a long time to have children placed with them, which can be very disheartening when they just want to care for children.
Barking and Dagenham’s sole focus is to provide good quality care for local children.
The majority of fostering agencies are businesses, with an underlying need to generate profits.
When you foster for your council, your social worker and the children’s social worker are working for the same organisation, following the same policies, working closely together.
The policies are designed to work in the best interests of the children, to achieve the best outcomes for them.
This doesn’t always happen as easily with fostering agency staff, as they have to bear in mind the business objectives of their agency too.
The number of children coming into care is continuing to rise.
At Barking and Dagenham we need foster carers who can provide our children with safe, stable and secure homes.
Speak to our expert staff and let us guide and support you through the process. Foster for Barking and Dagenham Council.