A fostering hub has been created by eight councils in Cheshire and Merseyside with the aim of ‘urgently’ recruiting carers.
Across the Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Warrington and Wirral local authority areas, there are 4,600 children in care but only 1,150 approved foster carers.
The new hub, Foster4, is designed to be the first point contact for prospective carers.
It will provide support during the application process and match new and experienced carers through a mentoring scheme.
Foster4 is also part of the national Fostering Network’s Mockingbird programme, which sets up groups of fostering households to ‘act as an extended family’, who can meet up for days out and create a support system.
The chair of the Foster4 board and Warrington Borough Council’s children’s services director, Amanda Perraton, said: ‘Becoming a foster carer is one of the biggest and most rewarding decisions someone can make, and many people don't realise they can foster and, as a result, don’t make the initial enquiry.
‘We want to dispel myths around who is eligible to foster, to ensure we recruit a diverse range of foster carers for children and young people in Cheshire and Merseyside.’
