Foster Carers welcome "radical review"

Saturday 08 July 2017

The Chair of the Jersey Foster Carers' Association says they would welcome a "radical review" of their services, following recommendations made in the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry Report.

Juliette de Guelle says they will engage with any review "fully" to ensure that the association, and the island as the whole, can provide the best possible outcomes for the children in their care.

In a statement published on Friday, Ms de Guelle says the association "welcomed" the report. "We have to understand the past to make sure that services are fit for purpose and can deliver high quality care for our vulnerable children and young people today and into the future."

The association, which is currently looking for more families to foster children, says that, "...much has now been done to rectify systematic failings of the past including new regulations, enhanced communication with Children’s Services and a better support system for our foster carers and the children in our care. Improvement is a continuous process and it is absolutely essential that foster carers continue to receive high quality training, resources and support."

Published earlier this week, the Care Inquiry Report mentions that foster carers  "...are a key part of the provision of Children’s Services and can make a very significant positive difference to the experience of looked after young people." It also states that "considerable dissatisfaction" was voiced by the island’s foster carers, "who felt that they were not viewed as being 'part of the team'."

Those comments "...give rise to concern and point to the need for improvement" according to the report, which therefore recommends "...a thorough review of fostering in the island is undertaken as a matter of urgency, and that external expertise is engaged to assist with this. We recommend that the review should examine the recruitment and retention of foster parents and must consider whether any arrangements need to be made to ensure that families with the potential to be effective foster carers have access to suitable housing."

"The review must set the groundwork for a different attitude to foster carers from professional staff that should ensure that foster carers are treated fully as equal members of the team looking after children in the care system alongside those employed professionals working in Children’s Service."

Pictured: The Care Inquiry report recommends a "thorough" review of the foster care system on the island.

Ms De Guelle commented on the recommendation saying: "We take the report recommendations very seriously and are now looking to the future and working with the relevant bodies to implement the recommendations made. We realise that it’s going to take time but are already working with Fostering and Adoption Jersey in a positive way and look forward to working with other departments on a similar basis. The Report recommends a thorough review of fostering. Our committee would welcome a radical review so that we and our Island community can provide the best possible outcomes for the children in our care. We will engage with any such review fully. 

"I believe that with the right support our foster carers have the pride and passion to push forward and make things better. We have 30 extremely dedicated foster families in the Island and we require many more. We truly hope that the Report findings, and the changes it will bring about, will encourage people to come forward and offer their families and homes to help make Jersey a better place for those most vulnerable."

She concludes that the association's aspiration is for every child "...to be happy, healthy, supported and reach their full potential. We can’t do that alone. We need the support of The States of Jersey, teachers, families and the medical profession to make sure the system changes such that the aspiration becomes reality."