Agenda item

(To consider a report by Nicola Brangam, Fostering Team Manager, and Rebecca Dolman, Fostering Team Manager, which invites the Panel to consider the Fostering Service Annual Report for 2021-22)

Consideration was given to the Fostering Annual Report 2021 – 2022 as part of the monitoring of the Fostering Service required under the Fostering Service Regulations 2011 and the Fostering Minimum Standards 2011.

Members of the Panel were guided through the report, and the following was highlighted:

• There were 735 children in care which was a concern.  Officers were very proud that 499 had been placed in foster care as it was still a difficult period of time for fostering.
• Officers thanked all the foster carers that had continued to support the authority.
• The online community of foster carers remained very positive.
• At the end of March 2022, there were 289 foster carer households registered.
• In comparison with other local authorities, Lincolnshire was performing well.

The Corporate Parenting Panel was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised included the following:

• In terms of recruitment, officers advised that there was a new Practice Supervisor, who had examined the marketing strategy to identify where the most interest from, and so had been able to identify which areas to target.  The authority had invested heavily in the local community and visited local businesses etc.  At the start there were 5,000 hits per month on social media, this had now increased to 27,000 hits per month.
• Fostering was a competitive market, and there had been a need to improve recruitment.  A portal had been developed so people could track where they were in the process, as well as being allocated to a foster carer advocate at stage one of their approval, so they had a contact for any questions/advice during the process.
• There were currently 291 approved households, with 30 pending approval.
• In terms of challenges from the cost of living crisis, the Initial Expressions of Interest (IEI) were being monitored, and an increase in approvals was expected.
• It was confirmed that a fosterer could only be approved with one agency at any one time.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the foster carers present, and the following was noted:

·       It was queried how foster children were integrated into the family, and one foster carer responded that they had not started to foster until their own children were in their teenage years.  They also advised that most of the children they had fostered had been teenagers, and did acknowledge that it had been a challenge at times.  However, it was important to ensure that both children were included and had time where the focus was on them.

·       It was noted that foster carers would be providing support on issues that they had not experienced themselves, and it was queried how a foster carer would start those conversations where there wasn’t a shared experience.  Members were advised that it was about being able to listen, encouraging honesty and openness, and a willingness to hear what the young person wanted to say, and being able to provide support without judgement.

RESOLVED

That the Fostering Annual Report be approved.