You can foster in Cumbria.

We would particularly like to recruit foster carers who are able to care for:

• Brothers and sisters.
• Older children and young people.
• Children that will be in foster care long term.
• Children with additional needs. This might include behaviour that challenges.

Cumbria’s fostering team values the contribution of our foster carers and offer a generous support package. This includes:

• Fostering payments including fees and allowances.
• Comprehensive training programme including the ‘Skills to Foster’ course and ongoing development opportunities.
• Support and learning and development opportunities to make sure that the outcomes for the foster child are the best they can be through regularly reviewing your support needs, progress and achievements every year.
• Fostering support groups that meet regularly across the county. The groups give you a chance to share your experiences as well as get hints and tips from other carers who’ve been through it before.
• A social worker specifically allocated to you. You can expect to receive regular meetings which are a chance for you to talk through any problems and share information about children in your care.
• Foster Carer Tax Relief.
• Membership to the Foster Talk and Child Action North West which is a great resource for foster carers.

Fostering locally also includes additional benefits such as:

• Lower travelling distances, for example to school and meetings with birth families.
• Links with Children’s Centres, schools and other professional services.
• The benefits of your local authority’s knowledge and experience as our teams have often been working with the child’s families for a long time. Local authorities have a lot of important background knowledge which they can share with you. This also helps us to match children with the carers who are most suitable for them and their circumstances.

If you’d like to foster for Cumbria please complete this form and your enquiry will be emailed to the local authority you have selected.