Newham Council is recruiting new foster carers from different cultural backgrounds to address a desperate shortage of foster families across London.
Across the capital, there are currently more than 9,700 children who need a foster care placement, while there is an estimated shortage of 6,000 foster carers across the UK.
The council has identified a need for families with diverse heritage to step up and become foster carers in Newham.
This specifically applies to Bangladeshi communities, and those who identify as Black African, including those of Somali, Nigerian and Ghanaian heritage. The Council will be working with residents, existing foster carers and community groups to help raise awareness, dispel any cultural myths and highlight the importance of tackling any mismatches.
Councillor Lakmini Shah, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Communities, at Newham Council, said: “We are proud to be launching a campaign that speaks directly to every Newham adult, encouraging them to think about fostering. We want to break barriers, tackle misconceptions and bring about behaviour change. We will be working with existing foster carers to help meet our overarching aim of increasing the number of successful fostering households in Newham.
“We are committed to growing the number of local in-house foster carers. We recognise we cannot continue to rely so heavily on external provision. We want people from Newham to recognise that they could indeed be the missing piece in a child’s life.”
Newham is looking to recruit more families to support babies, toddlers, teenagers, sibling groups and children with disabilities or who have been through complex trauma. This means the local authority is having to rely on Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) for immediate sufficiency needs.
The council regularly holds information sessions, both online and in-person, offering residents the opportunity to find out more about the process. Throughout the campaign, there will be a big push to increase attendance and share the key messages with prospective foster carers.
Foster families can call on a range of support services provided by Newham Council, including a specialist advice line that is available 24 hours a day.
Cllr Shah added: “It is vital all children in Newham have a safe, happy place to call home. This can help shape their adult life and will ensure they have access to a positive, bright start in life, with a range of opportunities to help them flourish.
“Many people don’t realise that they are eligible to foster, and so children miss out. By highlighting the criteria, benefits package and the timelines, we hope to increase numbers and ultimately see more children thriving in our borough.” You can find out more about fostering in Newham here.
