Parent and Child campaign

Could you open your home and welcome parents and their children, usually a young mum and her new baby, for around 6 months at a time? 

On International Womens Day, and with Mothers Day just around the corner, we’ve launched our new campaign to recruit more Parent and Child Foster Carers to add to our dedicated family of existing carers.  By recruiting carers who can support young mothers (and fathers) in our communities, we aim to empower them to be successful families in their own rite in the longer term.

More and more, Parent and Child Care is being sought for parents at risk of having children removed from their care. This may be because the young parent has not experienced positive parenting themselves, so has not had that frame of reference to learn how to parent; it may be that the parent has additional needs that mean they need extra support; or it could be that the parent has previously had a child removed from their care, and now their circumstances have changed, so it could be possible for their new baby to remain in their care for example.

By caring for a parent and their child, the aim is that you will use skills you have acquired as a parent (or carer) yourself, to model positive parenting and give the family the best possible chances of staying together and flourishing.

Anyone who is a parent will know just how hard it can be. So we ensure our Parent and Child Carers are experienced, non-judgemental and can work positively with the parent and their child, and wider professional team of social workers and health professionals for example.

You’ll help to model skills such as feeding, bathing and safe sleep. You’ll empower the parent to make positive life choices, plans for the future and develop healthy routines. You’ll provide support when they are overwhelmed, and get them back on the right track if they need it. You’ll help them to understand developmental milestones and the baby’s changing needs.

This really is an incredible opportunity for anyone with an interest in child development, and could be particularly interesting for people who are or have been midwives, teachers, youth workers, child care workers, social workers or care assistants for example.

Our Parent and Child Carers tell us that this is one of the most rewarding types of fostering there is. Many of our carers have excellent relationships with the families they have supported, often telling us stories about how they text, speak on the phone and meet up, even years down the line!

Read our press release to find out more and hear from our Parent and Child carer Therese. (Local versions of this release exist in each LA).

Feeling inspired? Enquire today. We’d love to hear from you.