If you a regular visitor to our website you may have noticed that I have written a few insights into our role as advisors to people who may be interested in fostering. It is something that I really enjoy doing. I get to speak to so many people from a variety of backgrounds, and hearing about their reasons for wanting to support young people through fostering. I say it often, but it does make me sad when people rule themselves out before they have even spoken to us, and would suggest that you get in contact even if you are not sure if you have the right skills or experience. Some people are ready to move forward straightaway, but others need more time to get themselves in a position to foster – we are happy to discuss with everyone, wherever they may be at in their journey.
As for myself, I started working in fostering just over 15 years ago. This was in a role now known as a family finder, which is matching children that are referred to us needing a foster home with our available foster carers. This is a challenging role as there are so many children out there that need caring homes mainly in the short-term but also for longer periods, and you want to be able to offer their social worker an option of a well-matched, supportive environment. There is so much to consider on this subject in more depth, however I will leave that for another time!
I have worked in a variety of roles within fostering since then, but working with social workers during the matching process, to best understand the needs of the child that is requiring a foster family, I was able to ensure that when I moved into role of recruitment officer full time I could use this knowledge to guide fostering applicants to understand the realities and practicalities of fostering.
I am now a senior recruitment officer and this gives me the opportunity to support our fostering applicants from the initial enquiry stage all the way through the assessment to Panel. I am very ably assisted my colleagues – Robyn, who many will speak to in their first phone call, and Jude who supports in our North West region. They are lovely and always happy to answer any questions.
So, today’s tasks begin with seeing who has been in contact overnight about fostering, getting their details logged and information brochure emailed to them, and then pass to Robyn to arrange for a follow up call. We look forward to speaking with them all 😊
I will spend the rest of the morning phoning applicants that are going through the assessment process to see if everything is going well or if any issues. Jude called her applicants in the North West yesterday so I’d better get on it! It’s great to catch up to see what is going on, as sometimes there can be some confusion around what to do with paperwork, how to book in for training, or just to chat about how they are feeling about the whole process.
Early afternoon will be taken up with setting up and inviting applicants to the Skills To Foster course in our Midlands region. This one already looks like it will be full up, but we do have later dates arranged so there will space for everyone. This course is held over several days and is part of the assessment process to becoming a foster carer. This course gives applicants an opportunity to meet the Team, as well as gain more insight into what fostering entails, the needs of the children, etc. And you get a free lunch!
This afternoon we will have a meeting to discuss new fostering application forms that have been submitted and where the applicants have had a home visit by one of our colleagues. This gives an opportunity to discuss the positives and strengths of each applicant and to see if we need to get any more information or any clarification before making a decision to move forward with an application. Either Jude or I will contact the applicants after the meeting to advise of the next steps 😊
After a couple of calls to applicants that contacted us last year but were not ready to move forward straightaway – someone needed their Decree Absolute, and other needed their son and daughter-in-law to move out into their own property – sadly straight to voicemail but will email each later.
Last task of the day is to have a discussion with one of my colleagues who has visited a lady at home who is interested in fostering. This lady had originally ruled herself out of becoming a foster carer as she does not have any formal qualifications in childcare, however, is an experienced mum, has previously worked with children with autism and helped at a youth club when she was younger. Lots of positives and I will be giving her a call and asking her to complete the online application form.
That is another day in the life of a foster carer recruitment officer done and dusted. Let’s see what tomorrow brings 😊
By Lynsey Dobbs, Senior Recruitment Officer