Put yourself in the picture. This is the invitation from North East Lincolnshire Council's fostering team to anyone who has the time to care and make a positive difference to the life of a child.
To mark Fostering Fortnight, May 14-27, the team will be taking to the road to highlight the urgent need for foster families in this area. Locally there is a need for carers to look after babies and toddlers, teenagers and family groups of two or three children.
Foster carers are aged over 21 years, but there is no upper age limit, and they come from all walks of life. If you have the dedication, time and space to care for a child or children who need help, then fostering could be the right choice for you. Fostering isn't easy, but North East Lincolnshire Council would like to urge interested people to come forward and find out more. Our highly regarded quality training programme and outstanding support will be given to all new foster carers.
If you would like to know more and put yourself in the picture, drop in and see members of the fostering team, social workers and foster carers: They will be available for an open and frank discussion about becoming a foster carer from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm:
- Tuesday 15, May - St James Hotel, St James Square, Grimsby
- Wednesday 23, May - Morrison's Car Park, Louth
- Thursday 24, May - The Riverhead, Grimsby
- Friday 25, May - Discovery Centre Car Park, Cleethorpes
- Wednesday 20, June - Lincolnshire Show, Lincolnshire Showground
- Thursday 21, June - Lincolnshire Show, Lincolnshire Showground
Councillor Ian Lindley, portfolio holder people services said, "Across the UK a child comes into care every 22 minutes and it is estimated that nationally 8,750 new foster families will be need in 2012. Locally we still have a need for more families that can help us keep brothers and sisters together or offer short breaks to a child with disabilities.
"The fostering service was recently judged to be outstanding by Ofsted and can offer the highest quality support to local carers. If you think fostering is something you might like to consider, please call into one of the events in May or June. There is no pressure but you might find a new fulfilling career that makes a big difference to some of our most vulnerable children."
For more information about becoming a foster carer please visit our website www.nelincs.gov.uk/fostering