Dr Mica Douglas, Managing Director of specialist therapeutic care provider Flourish Fostering calls for more people to find out about the rewards of fostering.

Every 20 minutes in England and Wales, another child comes into care needing a foster family. We always need extraordinary people to train to become Foster Parents and this year is no different.

Foster Parents accomplish incredible things every day, even in the face of a global crisis that has affected each and every one of us and impacted all aspects of our society as we know it. Despite the practical and emotional challenges that the pandemic is bringing, Foster Parents continue to provide exceptional support, care and stability to children and young people who, for many different reasons, cannot live with their birth families … and more families are needed now.

During the Covid pandemic the number of children and young people in need of foster care is increasing, so we need to continue to recruit more Foster Parents in Essex and Kent. The Covid issues that are being experienced countrywide have challenged numerous aspects of our day-to-day processes. We have therefore changed many of our regular and established procedures adopting modern technology such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to provide assessments, training and supervision.

Covid has also impacted on the waiting list of fostering families who are ready to take a child or young person in need – an issue that is affecting fostering as whole throughout the UK. Now more than ever we need local people to become Foster Parents in Essex and Kent. Flourish Fostering are still taking applications during lockdown. And our experienced team is working hard to help people start their fostering journeys with virtual home visits and training.

We don’t take just anyone though…

At Flourish, we specialise in helping Foster Parents to understand the child’s internal world so that they can look behind the behaviour and understand some of the motivations of foster children. We also help Foster Parents to become more resilient by helping them to understand their own reactions and how they can stay in control of the emotional tone of the household.

We want people who can rise to this challenge and are not afraid to learn more about themselves as well as about what works with foster children. It is not a job for the feint-hearted, but Dr Douglas believes that everyone has more potential than they ever realise. Give Flourish a call to see if you have the potential to make a difference in the lives of children who are in care.

And remember, there is no such thing as a typical Foster Parent. Our Foster Parents come from all backgrounds and bring a wide range of life and work experiences. Foster Parents can be married, single, in same-sex relationships, and can be homeowners or tenants. As long as you are passionate for children to achieve their full potential and have an ability to provide a caring and nurturing environment, together with a willingness to learn and develop, and to work with us as part of a professional team, we’d be thrilled to hear from you.

If the current Covid pandemic is affecting your career, or if you’d like to talk to someone about what being a Foster Parent with Flourish Fostering involves, get in touch on 0808 129 5311 and start your journey today.