Articles
14/05/12 – Every 22 Minutes a Child Needs a Foster Carer – Huffington Post
This article gives a factual perspective on the need for foster carers in the UK with statistics and real-life stories from foster children.
12/03/13 – What Foster Parents Wish Other People Knew – ScienceBlogs.com
This is an American article and so information regarding benefits is inaccurate.
16/04/13 – We Need to Value Foster Care, Not Fixate on Adoption – The Guardian
This article discusses Clause 1 of the Children and Families Bill which seemed to assume that Adoption was quickly on the agenda once a child was removed from its natural family. The article attempts to counter this assumption and provides some insight into the advantages of Foster Care over adoption.
04/03/15 – Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Foster Parents and Adopters Step Forward – The Guardian
This article tells the story of Jo and her partner, Liz, as they go through the process of adopting a little girl they had been fostering. It looks at the stereotypes attached to LGBT foster parents and the real statistics to do away with old myths and encourage more LGBT people to foster.
13/04/15 – Sarah and Alan’s Story – Clifford House
This article looks at Sarah and Alan’s story as they go through fostering with 3 children of their own. This is a great article for foster parents with biological children to consider and the children they care for.
13/04/15 – Have you got room in your heart and home? – Clifford House
This article contains lots of useful statistics about fostering in the UK.
13/04/15 – Sarah and Antony’s Story – Clifford House
This article follows Sarah and Anthony on their path to being foster carers and through foster parenting, with real-life experiences to give the reader a sense of what being a foster carer is really like.
06/05/15 – 18 and Forced to Leave Care: Life for a foster child before the Staying Put – Clifford House
This article looks at the Staying Put legislation which allowed children to stay in their foster homes after turning 18, and life before the legislation passed. It is particularly interesting for those who haven’t read much about older children or young adults in care.
03/07/15 – Rewards in Foster Parenting: Rewards in Love – Huffington Post
This article is written by Dr John DeGarmo, a leading expert in the Foster Care field, who discusses his time as a foster parent and the rewards that he felt being a foster parent gave him.
09/07/15 – It’s the Little Things that Make All The Difference – Clifford House
This article tells the story of Ellen and how foster care gave her the prospects of a bright future, and more importantly, a true family.
17/07/15 – Foster Parenting Why We Care for Kids in Need – Huffington Post
This article explains why foster carers do what they do, and what drives them to care for the children. It provides great insight into how the children come to the foster carers and the cases that inspire them to continue to care for children.
We also recommend keeping an eye on the Social Care section of the Guardian for regular fostering articles!
Blogs
This is an American Foster Dad with children with mild disabilities. This is a great blog for those who assume that all foster children are the same and explains the rewards of being a foster father.
This is also the Huffington Post Foster Care Blogger. Meghan writes frank updates about her foster son, and his journey with her and her family. Her blog is both informative and inspirational, giving a great insight into being a foster mum.
Want to learn more? Here’s a great programme that we reviewed that you should watch called Protecting Our Foster Kids on BBC Two.
This much talked about program followed Dorset County Council’s fostering service over the course of a year and provides real-life insight into the professionals and lives of children in care.