Foster children continue to require high-quality care on a regular basis across the country. On any given day, there are more than 59,000 children in foster care in the United Kingdom. Fostering gives a safe, secure, and supportive family atmosphere to children in need of a loving home for a short or long period of time, while allowing them to maintain contact with their own families if they so desire.

About Foster Children

There are now more children in care than ever before, with almost 8,000 more children in care on any one day than there were in 2007. Around two-fifths of foster children in care are between the ages of 11 and 15, and fostering services are increasingly focusing their efforts on identifying persons with the necessary abilities to care for teenagers.

Why do children need foster care?

Children are taken into care for a variety of reasons, and each child and their situation is unique. A kid may be placed in care for a variety of reasons, including a family member’s short-term illness, a parent’s depression, or drug and alcohol abuse. It’s possible that some youngsters have been abused or neglected. Foster parents can give children a home and a supportive family for as long as they need it, giving families a chance to work out their problems. Foster parents can make a significant difference in the lives of these children by acting as responsible role models and providing a level of support and care that they may not have previously experienced.

Foster children in care

When a child is placed into care, the local authority (or, in Northern Ireland, the health and social care (HSC) trust) is responsible for his or her welfare. The social worker then works with the family to ensure that the child’s needs are met and that the foster family can provide all of the necessary support for the child to grow and develop, with the goal of reuniting the child with his or her parents.