Carers and foster families needed to support service

Efforts to secure more foster families to support some of Perth and Kinross’s most vulnerable youngsters will continue with a series of public meetings.

It follows a decision by council chiefs to do away with traditional children’s homes.

The £1.7 million shake-up of residential services was agreed last summer as part of a radical new approach to address a surge in the number of local children needing specialist care.

The new set-up, which will be the first of its kind in Scotland, will scrap the council-run service at The Cottages in Almondbank, which offers residential support for a small number of youngsters.

The building will be turned into a non-residential hub, staffed by specialists, teachers and therapists.

The move is based on the “outstanding” No Wrong Door project in North Yorkshire.

However, it will rely more on foster families for accommodation.

Over the coming weeks, the council is offering locals the chance to find out more about fostering, supported lodges and adoption, as well as how to become a carer.

Education and Children’s Services social work staff will be out and about to provide information and answer questions.

The first session will be held on February 19 and 20, from 10am to 4pm, at the foyer at Perth Royal Infirmary.

Perth College will host the next event, in its library corridor, on February 28 and March 8 from 11.30am to 2pm.

And there will be another outing at the Kinross-shire Better Place to Live Fair at Loch Leven Community Campus, Kinross, on Saturday, March 3 from 10am to 2pm.