Staffordshire County Council has launched a new drive aimed at recruiting so-called ‘resilience foster carers’ willing to take on the most troubled children.
The council hopes to recruit professionals experienced in working with young people who have behavioural and emotional problems, such as current or former police and prison officers, as it seeks homes for the more challenging children in its care. Such children often come from backgrounds of neglect or abuse and may have had previous unsuccessful foster placements.
Mike Lawren is the council’s lead member for children’s wellbeing. He said:
“We have built up a network of foster carers who can provide stable homes for the majority of children who come into our care. However, it is vital that we find the right foster carers to support those children with the most challenging behavioural and emotional needs through the most vulnerable periods of their lives.”
Mr Lawrence added:
“Research shows that the stability of a family environment can help them to reach their potential in later life. The resilience foster care campaign aims to find those special people who can provide the intensive care and support needed to help these young people make the transition into adulthood.”
In a video entitled Seeing Potential, Changing Lives, produced to support the campaign, retired policeman Tom Wardle and his wife Anne explain why they decided to become resilience foster carers.
He says:
“As a police officer I would see first-hand where troubled teens end up. It became clear that their bad behaviour was a sign that what they needed was a stable home life rather than prosecution.”
Anne adds:
“As a foster carer you are helping to give a child a normal family life and that alone can make a real difference in their life and future.”
Photo by Horia Varlan via Flickr under a Creative Commons licence
