Councillors today have been urged to use their influence in their local communities and to help recruit more foster carers in Devon.
The call, from Council leader Julian Brazil, was made at today’s Full Council meeting (Wednesday 4 December).
At the meeting Devon County Council’s commitment in supporting foster carers and recognising the vital role that they play was underlined.
Councillors of all political stripes acknowledged the principle of corporate parenting, that the responsibility for children in care extended beyond social services to the whole council and wider community.
Members highlighted that foster carers are at the heart of this commitment, offering safe and loving homes that help children thrive despite challenging circumstances.
They discussed the importance of fostering in Devon, noting that demand for placements continues to grow and that recruiting and retaining foster carers remains a significant challenge.
Like many areas across the country, Devon is experiencing a decline in fostering households. Since 2020, the number of approved fostering households has fallen by a third.
The council has committed £2m and is introducing a series of measures including:
- Improved training and development.
- Improved financial support with allowances aligned with the Department for Education’s National Minimum Allowance (NMA), with protections in place to ensure carers do not receive less than current rates.
- Access to specialist advice and wellbeing services.
- The appointment of a fostering member champion.
- Support, including an emergency rota service, short breaks for children with disabilities, and supported lodgings schemes. emergency rota fees and enhanced payments will be available for carers supporting children with higher needs.
- An annual council tax relief scheme.
Councillor Andy Ketchin (Green) said:
“This report says nothing to me about making things easier for people to become foster parents. I would like an emphasis on reducing barriers to entry for new foster carers.
“Anything that can be done to simplify processes for foster parents would be welcome and to make it easier for new foster parents to come on board.”
Councillor Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative) said:
“Foster caring really is vital. The best place for a child to be is in a family environment. I recognise that we can do more, and this is a very good step in the right direction. I wholly endorse this work.”
Councillor Julian Brazil (Lib Dem) leader of Devon County Council said:
“It’s very encouraging to hear the words of support here. We have a problem with recruitment of foster carers in Devon, and we have to do something about it.
“We must do better, and this is a start but by no means a finish. It would be absolutely fantastic if every single councillor could recruit one foster carer for Devon.
“It would make a massive difference. As Councillor Leadbetter says, it’s the best place for a vulnerable child to be and, unfortunately, because we don’t have enough foster carers, we are having to send our children out of county…which is just not good enough.
“This is a crucial part of the jigsaw in terms of children’s services improvement. You go to all your parish councils, speak to lots of people and take that opportunity to push this and say ‘have you ever thought about being a foster carer?
“As Councillor Hodgson said, It can an incredibly fulfilling thing to do.”
Councillor Robin Julian (Reform) the Member champion for Fostering, agreed and said:
“We need more foster carers, it is a very challenging (environment) and we’ve got to make it better for children. We want to keep children in the county, and I feel, with all of us together, we can help recruit more foster carers.”
