Media Release
Date: 3 May 2017
Foster Care Fortnight – 8 to 21 May 2017
Foster Care Fortnight will be taking place this year between 8th and 21th May 2017and The Family Placement Service will be making use of this time to promote awareness of the need for fostering in the island.The overarching theme of this year’s campaign is ‘foster care transforms lives’.
This fortnight provides the perfect opportunity within the local community to raise awareness of fostering. The campaign aims to encourage a diverse range of people with the right skills and qualities to foster to come forward to meet the needs of children who are unable to live within their birth family either temporarily or on a long term basis.
Karen Reade, Manager, Family Placement Service said:
“There is a significant shortage of foster carers currently to meet the needs of children requiring placement. Children coming into care have diverse needs and we need a range of placement options for those children as choice is important in order to promote the best outcomes for them. The Service is targeting recruitment activity to finding foster carers who can care for sibling groups, school aged children and teenagers although interest in other areas is always welcomed.Weare seeking foster carers who can be available for short or long term fostering, short break carers for children with disabilities and specialist foster care.
The Family Placement Service always looks forward to this fortnight as we believe this event encourages people to think about fostering.Fostering is a really rewarding thing to do and makes such a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people at a time of difficulty in their lives when they need care and support.”
People living in the Bailiwick are part of a very generous community and we are hoping the community will respond so that we can recruit new foster carers to provide for our children and young people.”
During Foster Care Fortnight the team and foster carers will be based at the following locations and will have information packs available for anyone who is interested:
11 & 19th May – Beau Sejour between 11 am and 2 pm in the Cambridge room above Park’s Café.
There will also be a FOSTER WALK on Sunday 21st May, meeting at Rousse Tower at 10.45am to start the walk at 11am. We will walk from the Tower to Les Amarreurs to show our support for foster care and the fantastic role of foster carers. We had a lovely time last year so please join us to support us, wear bright colours and bring a picnic if you want to stay afterwards for a play at the play park or the beach.
If you would like to find out more about fostering and whether fostering is something you could do to make a difference to the life of a child the Family Placement Service would be very pleased to see you at our Foster Care Fortnight events. Alternatively you can visit our website or we can be contacted on 713230 or via email on .
Foster Care Fortnight is The Fostering Network's annual campaign to raise the profile of fostering. It is also the UK's biggest foster carer recruitment campaign.
Children come into care for a whole variety of reasons, including a family member’s short-term illness or a parent’s depression or drug or alcohol misuse. Some children may have been abused or neglected. Foster carers can give families a chance to sort out their problems by providing children with a home and supportive family for as long as they need. Some children may not return to their birth families but may instead move on to be adopted or to long term foster care, once again foster carers are influential here in preparing children to move on to new families.
The Foster Care Fortnight Campaign is supported by a large number of celebrities whose lives have been transformed through foster care. Below are comments from some of them:
Jacqueline Wilson
Bestselling children's author and long term supporter of Foster Care Fortnight:
‘I am proud to support Foster Care Fortnight and hope that this year it will encourage more people than ever to become foster carers. I have met so many inspiring foster carers in recent years and heard from their fostered children about the great work they do.
‘To be able to provide such love and support to a child in such a vulnerable position as one coming in to care is a very special skill indeed.
‘If you think you can improve a child’s life through foster care, speak to your local fostering service today.’
Gabby Logan
Presenter and long-term supporter of Foster Care Fortnight
‘Foster Care Fortnight gives the profile of fostering a much needed boost and raises awareness of foster carers who do fantastic work 24 hours a day for some of the most vulnerable children in our society.
‘Perhaps now is the time for you to come forward to foster. If you think you have the skills to transform a young person’s life please contact your local fostering service.’
Issued by:
Emma Walton
Communications Manager
The Office of the Committee for Health and Social Care
Tel: 01481 725241 (ext 4650)
E-mail:
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