Grooming gang legacy is putting off foster carers

THERE are fears that the spectre of Huddersfield’s child sex abuse scandal is putting off people becoming foster carers.

Staff at Kirklees Council have admitted the recent child sexual exploitation (CSE) case, in which a grooming gang was jailed for a total of 221 years, has had a negative impact on recruitment.

Andy Quinlan, the council’s service manager (fostering), said there were concerns that Kirklees would follow in the wake of Rotherham, which had experienced its own child sex abuse inquiry.

“An assistant director at Rotherham was saying the difficulty they’re having recruiting foster carers is because of the legacy of what’s happened in Rotherham and the impact of people thinking, ‘Why do I want to be a foster carer for Rotherham? What am I going to be getting into?’

“When we talk about vulnerabilities and the issues we had around CSE, those are areas in that we need to be supportive of prospective carers.

“One of the things we’re going to be saying to people, to get the message across, is that Kirklees is going to be a great place to foster and a lot of that comes from foster carers sharing their views and experiences.”

As Kirklees continues to struggle to recruit foster carers staff it is increasingly reliant on expensive independent agencies.

But it has a secret weapon in its arsenal: a financial inducement that involves offering a £500 payment to existing carers as a “golden hello” if they help to recruit a new one.

“It’s about being innovative,” said Mr Quinlan, as he presented his report to the council’s Corporate Parenting Board.

Four months after the authority revealed it needs 40 inquiries a month to fulfil its fostering needs he confirmed it was “a major challenge going forward.”

The council faces the additional challenge of retaining carers once they enter the system.

Kirklees is in the midst of a “revamped” recruitment drive that has included drop-in events for the public to speak to fostering staff and a welter of advertising in the town centre and online.

It will liaise with the police, fire and prison services to use their official newsletters to raise awareness.

A central strategy is dubbed “25 for 25” – aimed at getting 25 new households expressing an interest in fostering by Christmas Day.