Your life

Support for Carers

We recognise that support for foster carers is vital if carers are to do their task well. As well as our training programme we offer significant supports which we are constantly trying to improve.

Support for carers Every approved foster carer has his or her own supervising social worker. Ideally, at least for the first couple of years, this will be the same social worker that carried out the fostering assessment. The supervising social workers visits the foster carers on at least a four weekly basis but this can be increased to weekly if additional support is required. Supervising social workers are qualified social workers with considerable experience in working with children and young people before they join the resourcing team. Your supervising social worker can provide help and support and will also act as a link with the child’s social worker. Your supervising social worker will be able to attend meetings (such as child care reviews) with you and to assist you to write reports required for these meetings. In addition your supervising social worker will keep in regular touch by telephone.

Our Resourcing Team works exclusively with foster carers and adopters so if your own supervising social worker is not available when you call during office hours then another member of the team will willingly take your call and assist you with any difficulties.

Stirling Council has a Children’s Service which means that social work and education are under the one management structure. This encourages and enables all workers, social workers, carers and teachers to work more closely together and support each other in caring for our vulnerable children.

We also work closely with the Health Board and there is now a nurse whose sole duty is to assist looked after and accommodated children and young people and their carers. She can be a valuable source of support on all health issues. There has also recently been appointed a Mental Health Worker who also has, as her sole responsibility, working with looked after and accommodated youngsters and their carers so that support and advice is readily available.

The foster carers are entitled to up to 28 days paid holiday per year if they wish to take this.

We plan to start an out-of-hours telephone support service for foster carers. It is hoped this service will start in 2006. At present Stirling Council foster carers have the support of the Emergency Duty Team available but more specialised support is sometimes needed. The out-of-hours telephone support will be provided by members of the resourcing team and so will be staffed by workers that foster carers know and who have specific skills in the fostering field.

We provide membership of the Fostering Network, and the National Organisation for Foster Care, on an individual basis. This gives access to legal advice and services and a wide-range of information and resources to assist carers in their role.