Why should I not only foster but foster with my Hampshire County Council?
Children deserve to feel safe. They deserve to be cared for. They deserve the opportunity to work towards achieving their potential. They deserve to be happy. They deserve to have a stable home.
Fostering Hampshire Children, the local fostering authority of Hampshire County Council, have been working hard to reduce the number of children coming into care through. In Hampshire the gap between the number of children needing a loving home, and the number of foster carers available, continues to widen. For every child they can find a home, there are others waiting.
That’s why they need your help. If you think you or someone you know has the tools and abilities to be able to become a foster carer, they want to hear from you today.
They’ve spoken a lot about why you should consider opening your door to a foster child in Hampshire so this Foster Care Fortnight, they’ve decided to instead break down the nine reasons as to why you should not just become a foster carer but become a foster carer with Fostering Hampshire Children.
1. They are changing the perception of fostering and who can do it: LGBTQ+? You can start your fostering journey. Working full time? You can start your fostering journey. Single or divorced? You can start your fostering…- you get the picture. With their exceptionally talented recruitment and assessment team, Fostering Hampshire Children are on hand to take you through the fostering journey at your own pace – answering every question you may have (or may not have even thought of yet).
2. They offer pioneering and unique LOCAL support: Once you become a foster carer, you will of course have the wonderful support of your social worker who will continue to help you throughout your journey. One of the extra benefits of fostering with Fostering Hampshire Children is your access to the unique Hampshire Hive. The Hive is a dedicated support bubble for foster carers at a truly local level. Led by a designated Hive Carer Support Worker, it is made up of 10-15 foster families and the children they care for.
Fostering Hampshire Children have over twenty hives across the county and with this unique level of fostering support, you will find you have regular access to guidance, practical and emotional support right on your doorstep.
3. Their training and development is second to none: Your development is important, which is why Fostering Hampshire Children offer an extensive range of training courses that will help you when caring for children and aid your personal development. Their trainers are friendly and experienced, recognising the skills and knowledge you already have.
With a diverse package of training adaptable to different types of fostering, they will support you to curate your own personal development plan, give you a clear focus to your learning and help you map out the next steps of your fostering journey.
4. They will match you with foster children that are a good fit: Fostering Hampshire Children feel this is key. When talking about a good fit – they mean for you, your household, your family and friends, your occupation and – of course - for the foster child themselves. As you progress through the fostering journey, they will always treat you as, well, you. An individual whose unique skills, commitments, strengths and weaknesses are always considered. Fostering Hampshire Children take all this information and recommend types of foster care that will best suit all of these factors.
5. They provide financial support for you and your family: It may feel a little unnerving to talk about fostering in financial terms alongside the amazing and inspiring impact you will have on a foster child. But one of the biggest secrets is fostering can bring a consistent and regular income into your household – one that allows you to focus on fostering as a professional career. And with the current times, it has been an important consideration for many Hampshire residents making the leap into foster care.
6. You will be celebrated and rewarded: : Fostering Hampshire Children value their foster carers and recognise that their outstanding and inspiring care provides stability to some of the most vulnerable children in the community. To reflect that, they regularly celebrate their carers. They host family fun days to bring together the fostering community and offer unforgettable experiences for foster children and birth children alike. They provide gifts for exceptional service, ‘thank yous' for outstanding support and formal events to honour long term foster carers. Fostering Hampshire Children are always looking to ensure foster carers remain in the fore front of their minds and that they are honoured for brilliant work they do every day.
7. They allow YOU to make an amazing difference to a child’s life. Fostering Hampshire Children could list 50 different reasons as to how becoming a foster carer fundamentally transforms and benefits a child’s life. Whether it is providing a child stability in a family dynamic or by supporting them to access education, helping children break from challenging home environments, or nurturing their emotional well-being; fostering is so very rarely a decision you will regret. It is a remarkable and inspiring role that fundamentally benefits children, your community and as seen from the list above - yourself.
If you ultimately do decide to foster, whether with Fostering Hampshire Children or another organisation, remember you will be making an amazing and unparalleled difference to a child’s life.
8. They are rated outstanding with Ofsted: Fostering Hampshire Children has an Outstanding Ofsted rating. So what? Well, by choosing to foster with them you can be sure you’ll be working with the very best social workers and fostering professionals the county has to offer, and that children in foster care will receive the right welfare and protection they so desperately need.
9 . You get LOADS of benefits and perks. Last but by no means least; foster carers are really valued people – and there are tons of perks and benefits to prove it. As a foster carer you are entitled to a Blue Light Card – a membership which entitles you to dozens of discounts at major retailers and shops. And with Fostering Hampshire Children, you can enter loads of competitions for Amazon vouchers, free tickets to local attractions and much more.