Consultation Opens During Care Experience Week
People are being encouraged to share their views on plans for the future of foster care in Scotland.
The consultation, which will help ensure foster care is fit for the future, sets out proposals including more peer support opportunities, and using foster carers to facilitate family time with parents and siblings of children in foster care. The new approach could potentially offer an increased role for foster carers supporting families on the edge of care.
A national push to recruit more foster carers will also launch in 2025, with the aim of ensuring there are enough foster carers to support children in care.
Meeting foster carers earlier this week, First Minister John Swinney heard about the important role they play in supporting children and young people. Mr Swinney encouraged foster carers and children with care experience in particular to take part in the consultation.
Marking Care Experience Week, both the announcement of a new recruitment campaign next year and the consultation are key steps towards Keeping The Promise by delivering for care experienced children and young people.
I welcome this consultation and would encourage all constituents with an interest to contribute their views.
GRAEME
The SNP Scottish Government is absolutely committed to doing right by care experienced young people, ensuring their wellbeing and that they can reach their full potential.
This is what Keeping the Promise is all about, and foster carers are a central part of that.
Policy making should be based on as much evidence as possible, and so such consultations are key to make sure the future of fostering in Scotland is informed by those with lived experience.
We want Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up. To do this we need to ensure that children and young people with care experience are given the support, love and nurture that they need.
MINISTER FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE & THE PROMISE, NATALIE DON-INNES
Foster carers have a key role to play in Keeping The Promise. The consultation is shaped by the honest and open reflections that have been shared by foster carers and children and young people with experience of foster care.
I recognise some of the challenges facing foster care and thatās why along with the consultation, we will be launching a recruitment campaign for foster carers ensuring we can provide family-based care for those in need.
Anne Currie, Assistant Director Scotland at the Fostering Network said:
The Fostering Network is pleased the Scottish Government is launching a national consultation on fostering and is seeking the views of those most affected, foster carers and care experienced young people.
ANNE CURRIE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (SCOTLAND) AT THE FOSTERING NETWORK
We know urgent changes are needed to improve fostering and to Keep The Promise so all children and young people can grow up in stable, loving homes. Itās crucial that foster carersā voices are heard, which is why weāre working with the government to host online and in-person engagement sessions to provide an opportunity to ensure their views are heard.
Last year the number of fostering households in Scotland fell by 8%, so retention and recruitment of foster carers are more important than ever. We welcome plans to launch a national recruitment campaign and want to ensure current and former foster carers are involved in this as much as possible.
Background
The consultation will run until 6 February 2025.
The foster care recruitment campaign will run over two years with a budget of Ā£170,000 in financial year 2024-25, funding for 2025-26 will be confirmed as part of the Scottish Governmentās budget proposals.
