A brand new recruitment drive can be launched within the coming months for extra foster mother and father in Dumfries and Galloway.
The area has been fighting a scarcity of foster carers lately, prompting the council to do extra promotion and supply higher monetary incentives for individuals who step ahead.
Foster carers on this area had been as soon as solely entitled to a weekly allowance of between £184 for kids aged 11-15 and £224 for these aged 16 and above. Nevertheless, on the finish of final yr councillors agreed to introduce an extra fee of £167.68 per week for foster carers.
This has resulted in additional curiosity from folks within the function, however there may be nonetheless extra work to be finished to offer sufficient placements for kids and younger folks within the area.
Ultimately week’s social work committee assembly, North West Dumfries Councillor Paula Stevenson
requested: “In foster care, now we have added within the additional fee, however what are we truly doing in the neighborhood to attempt to actively recruit extra foster carers?”
Chief social work officer Lillian Cringles stated: “We recognised that we had a problem round how we financially supported our foster mother and father, and that’s why we made the modifications round how we encourage people to turn into foster mother and father, and the way we assist them by that.
“The fostering and adoption workforce supply a major quantity of various ranges of assist to our foster carers.
“We run seminars, teams, now we have classes with them to assist them of their function and performance as a result of a major quantity of our necessities wouldn't be finished with out the assist of foster mother and father and kinship carers.
“We do run common campaigns to encourage people to come back and work in Dumfries and Galloway as foster mother and father and kinship carers.
“There's an ongoing problem round the place some nationwide organisations will supply higher phrases and situations, and that’s a nationwide subject that each one native authorities face.
“However what we provide is assist, coaching, and a 24-hour helpline for our foster mother and father to have the ability to entry assist as and once they want it.”
Social work committee chairman, Councillor Andy Ferguson, requested particularly about what PR and promoting work is underway to draw extra foster carers.
Stephen Morgan, senior supervisor with the council’s kids and households part, replied: “We’ve just lately run focused promoting and in addition had some social media presence over the summertime. That’s the place we’ve seen a rise within the variety of assessments we’re at the moment doing.
“So, at the moment we’re taking a look at January or February for a brand new marketing campaign.”