The outlook for children in care and care leavers in the Dorset Council area has seen improvements over the last twelve months following a busy and productive year.
These were the headlines which were delivered to a recent meeting of the Corporate Parenting board.
Councillor Byron Quayle, portfolio holder for children, education, skills and early help, said: “As corporate parents we are responsible for the safety, well-being and education of our children in care and our care leavers. We take that duty very seriously and I am very pleased to see that many areas of this work have improved over the previous year.
“This is a group of young people who do not always have the same advantages as their peers, so it is really important that we continue to focus on ways that we can make sure they have a loving home as well as giving them good access to things such as education and healthcare and, as they become more independent, to training, employment and good accommodation.”
Members of the fostering panel were thanked for their work in talking to prospective foster carers and it was acknowledged that great improvements had been made during the year in the work of the panel.
The achievements of the fostering service during the year were described with particular recognition for the launch of Mockingbird which uses an extended family model to provide support to a group, or constellation, of eight to ten fostering families. , stability and positive outcomes for young people, feedback from foster carers has been amazing, it has made a huge difference to the families that are in those constellations.
Dorset Council has already launched three Mockingbird constellations and it is expected that there would be six by the end of the year, which would account for a quarter of Dorset Council’s fostering households.
It was noted that the agreement from Cabinet earlier this year to increase the fees paid to foster carers had helped, particularly during a time when living costs in households were increasing.
The committee heard of other clear achievements during the year including the opening of a new purpose-built accommodation in Weymouth, which will provide homes for up to twelve young people leaving care.
Young people will be able to stay there for up to two years to help them to get ready for living more independently, and the property will be supported by professionals from Dorset Council’s care leaver service, as well as two Peer Landlords who live at the property.
The committee also noted the launch of the Staying Close programme for care leavers which means that children who are in care can stay with their fostering families after they turn 18, rather than having to live completely independently when they reach that age.
Councillor Quayle added: “Although we have fewer children in care than a year ago, we need people now more than ever to consider applying to be a foster carer. All you need is a spare room and the time to give a child a loving home. We know that people often take a while to make up their mind to foster a child but I encourage everyone in Dorset to find out more about fostering and think about whether they could become a foster carer.”
