The BFCA Committee have been running the support service, on a voluntary basis since April 2005, following an unsuccessful term by paid staff. Four committee members have undertaken training to provide support to foster carers on a rota basis to ensure there is always someone available to provide a listening ear and answer any queries foster carers and indeed social work staff may have. In addition all committee members have been briefed on answering queries and re-directing more complex calls, to give carers the widest possible choice when selecting some one to talk to. In doing so, carers can be assured that there is always support and advice available from other carers who are from the same ethnic background and area of fostering as themselves.

Since April 2005, we have taken in excess of 900 calls from all over the country, from carers and social workers working for BSCH. These range from simple queries about school uniform entitlement through to serious allegations of abuse. From this initial contact we are able to advise the carer or ‘hold their hand’ right through to the process of returning to panel. We inherited 12 existing support cases, where carers were suspended, 3 of which have now been resolved and the carers involved re-instated. From the period April – November 2005 a further 6 carers have been receiving our support following their suspension. Therefore at present we have 15 ongoing support cases, and to date have had no de-registrations.

In addition to this front line service, we also liaise closely with BSCH to facilitate speedy resolution to these cases. By closely monitoring the calls coming into the support service, we are able to identify trends, and highlight areas that continually crop up as problematic. This allows us to then suggest areas where further training would prevent these issues arising, or perhaps jointly look at making changes in procedures to promote a safer, more equitable service. This will in turn result in fewer problems arising in the future.