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Foster Care Fortnight - 8 May - 21 May
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Renfrewshire Council’s Goal is to encourage fostering as career choice
To celebrate the national fostering awareness campaign, Foster Care Fortnight (Mon 8 May - Sun 21 May), Renfrewshire Council joined up with St Mirren football team to launch their goal of getting more people into fostering. Like the winning football team St Mirren FC, Renfrewshire Council is also top of the league when it comes to paying its foster carers. Indeed to try and encourage more people to start fostering, Renfrewshire Council has recently raised the amount it pays its foster carers and is now one of the highest paying Councils in Scotland.
Under Renfrewshire Council’s new deal, foster carers now receive a weekly payment of £353 per child or a pro-rata payment of £50 per child per day for care provided. This creates a new simpler system of a flat payment rate, regardless of the age of the child or experience of the carer. Also available will be allowances for daytime respite care and a number of other discretionary payments to help with special equipment, furnishings and transport requirements.
An additional attractive aspect of Renfrewshire Council’s new financial package is the decision in some circumstances to award a retainer payment to permanent and short term carers for periods of up to four weeks when they have no children under their care.
The Council is now leading the way in how it approaches fostering, getting the message out that foster caring is not an unpaid vocation but a paid profession.
Councillor Tommy Williams, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Community and Family Care Policy Board, explains the increase : “We hope that this new deal will encourage more people to take up fostering and reduce the number of children in residential care.”
“We currently rely on foster carers to provide homes for 150 children and young people. Renfrewshire foster carers have expressed great satisfaction from their involvement with these children, the sense of making a difference in their lives and also the idea of contributing to the local community. We do, however, still have a number of children in residential units who need a family experience and for whom we are unable to get foster placements. I would therefore encourage anyone interested in childcare to consider the new payments and fostering as a profession, and get in contact with the Council on 0141 842 5158/5159.”
Foster carers are now part of a larger care team, including health and social services. Individuals should see fostering as a real career option. They are now required to participate in a professional training and development programme to increase their skills and knowledge and can receive financial support to attend training courses and seminars.
Press Release: Thursday 4 May 2006
