Urgent call for foster carers in Merthyr Tydfil this Foster Care Fortnight

There is a need for more foster families in Merthyr Tydfil. The urgent call for people who think they have the skills and experience to offer caring and stable homes to children and young people who cannot live with their birth family comes at the start of Foster Care Fortnight^TM, run by the UK’s leading fostering charity The Fostering Network.

According to The Fostering Network over 8,000 more people with the right skills and experience are needed to offer loving, stable and secure homes to children and young people across the UK.

Foster care transforms the lives of children and young people.

Councillor Dave Hughes, Cabinet Member for Social Services, said:

‘Being a foster carer is a big decision, but what better time to consider it than during Foster Care Fortnight? The children and young people foster carers look after have often experienced very difficult starts to their lives, so prospective foster carers need a range of skills and qualities, including patience, the ability to listen, being a team player, a sense of humour and much more besides. The role is a challenging one, but we know that our foster carers find the impact they can make extremely rewarding.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council offers excellent training and support, as well as an allowance to cover the cost of looking after the children in their care. If you have a spare room and think you could offer the love and care that a fostered child needs, please contact our fostering service at merthyr.gov.uk/foster, e-mailing [email protected] or Freephone 0800 678 3798.

Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, said:

‘Foster Care Fortnight is a fantastic opportunity for us to say thank you to the foster families of Merthyr Tydfil. What these families do is amazing, giving children the chance of having the childhood they deserve, helping them to have high aspirations and enabling them to flourish as they grow.

‘We really do need more foster carers so that when a child needs a foster family they have the greatest chance of finding the family who has the skills to best meet their particular needs at the first time of asking. That’s why we are urging people in Merthyr Tydfil to get in touch with their fostering service today’.

Information events are being held in every ward in the County Borough over the next few weeks.
Details below:

More dates to be confirmed