Why is there a shortage of foster carers?
Across the country we have experienced a loss of over 1,000 fostering households in the last 18 months. It is commonly known that there is currently a massive shortage of foster carers across the UK. During Foster Care Fortnight in May this year, it was announced that in the UK there is currently a shortage of 6,500 foster carers. This alarming figure sparks a real crisis for local authorities and fostering agencies like Beacon Fostering who are recruiting more foster carers to create brighter futures for children and young people currently living in foster care.
Since 2019, there has been a 7% increase of children living in care and unfortunately the rise in children needing foster families has corresponded in a large amount of foster carers leaving the profession.
The location of foster care that is available is another problem. Placements 20 miles or more outside of county limits have increased by 20% since 2019, according to government figures. This is problematic because, when a child is placed in foster care, one of the most crucial things to take into account is how we can give them as much normalcy and support as we can during a trying and traumatic time in their lives; for many, that means maintaining regular contact with friends or going to school as usual. Since many foster children have established routines for spending time with their families, it is not reasonable to place them hundreds of miles away from home.
If you are interested in fostering and helping improve the national shortage of foster carers, follow the link below and a member of our recruitment team will contact you to answer any questions you might have about fostering.