Shortfall of foster parents as fewer young families take on care role
550 carers needed to fill gap
Ashortage of foster families in Scotland is getting worse as increased numbers of carers give up.
Figures show nearly one in 10 foster care households took themselves off the register of people looking to take in youngsters in a single year, while the rate of new registrations is falling.
Experts believe there are too many carers around retirement age and a lack of proper funding is being blamed for the shortfall.
There are just over 5,000 children living in foster care in Scotland but the Fostering Network estimates Scotland is short of at least 550 foster families.
Sara Lurie, director of the Fostering Network in Scotland, said: “We have a high number of foster carers who over the age of 60, they might have been doing this for 15 or 20 years and it just time for them to step back.
“It can be physically and mentally demanding and if they have grandchildren and the like, then perhaps it doesn’t fit with their life anymore.
“It is the vacuum behind, that of not enough younger families taking part, which we want to address.
“Another issue is often people don’t feel the support is in place, a high turnover in social workers or contradicting guidance from councils makes people question what they are doing.
“Also, there are big financial issues. Scotland is the only country in the UK that does not have national minimum fostering allowances – we have had years of reassurances that the Scottish Government will do something about this but it is clearly putting people off if they feel they will be out of pocket.”
The latest available Care Inspectorate figures show there were 430 new foster carer households approved in the year to December 31, 2016, a 7% drop from the previous year.
In the year to December 31, 2016 a total of 382 foster carer households took themselves off the register of people looking to take in youngsters.
This accounted for 9% of all foster households registered at the start of 2016.
Scottish Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale, who uncovered the foster care figures, said: “There is a shortage of foster carers in Scotland, and these figures suggest a worrying trend.
“The Scottish Government recognises the importance of foster carers, but I encourage ministers to urgently launch a national recruitment campaign to address the shortage.”
Scottish Labour will this week publish further research which shows the challenges facing young people in care, and the gaps in support for them.
The work will focus on what happens to care- experienced people when they turn 18 with Ms Dugdale claiming “too many are falling through the cracks when they enter adulthood”.
A Scottish Gover nment spokesperson said: “We value the commitment foster carers make to provide stability and care to some of our most vulnerable children and we are undertaking a review of care allowances in collaboration with COSLA and key fostering stakeholders.
“Local authorities are responsible for recruiting foster carers. They may also purchase additional foster care placements from independent or voluntary providers.”
For information on how to become a foster carer go to thefosteringnetwork.org.uk