Fostering

You can foster for Cumbria

We need foster carers across Cumbria to care for children and young people who are unable to live with their own families.

If you're interested in fostering then we'd really like to hear from you. Please get in touch with our recruitment team on 0303 333 1216.

We also hold information sessions throughout the county - see below for details.  At these information sessions you will be shown a film made by local foster carers and some of the children they look after. There will be a presentation going through the process involved in becoming a foster carer and then you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

In Cumbria we believe that all children and young people have the right to be healthy, happy and safe; to be loved, valued and respected; and to have high aspirations for their future.

In Cumbria we would wish all children to have secure relationships with family, friends and carers, be eager, excited, curious and engaged in learning, have self confidence, be able to co-operate and communicate socially and have the best possible health and development.

The Fostering Service is one of many services provided for children that help to achieve this vision.

Cumbria’s Fostering Service is child-centred and aims to provide high quality foster care placements for the children of Cumbria who cannot, for a period of time or permanently, live with their own birth family. We are committed where a child cannot remain in the care of his/her parents to exploring fully the prospects for placement in the extended family and friend network. 

The Fostering service is managed by Jayne Ivory and delivered by three teams which are interlinked. These are:

• The Central Placements Team which manages placement requests for children in foster care and is the focus for foster care recruitment
• The Countywide Supervision and Support Team which is split across three sites that are linked into the three districts in Cumbria. This team has responsibility for assessment, supervision and support of all of our foster carers.
• The Fostering Panel and Service Development aspect of the service responsible for ensuring that practice and procedures in the Fostering service are consistent and are of a high standard.  

All staff are suitably qualified and are subject to Cumbria County Council’s corporate standards for continuous professional development.

Foster Carers in Cumbria are valued for the high standard of care they provide to very vulnerable children. They have a career structure and regular access to supervision, support and training.  They also assist in the important task of recruitment. All new foster care applicants are assessed by a qualified social worker. This process is designed to help the carers and the assessing social worker to identify the sort of caring which will fit in with their lifestyle and wishes and meet the needs of the children we are caring for. 

Key documents

Title	Date	Size
Foster Carer Mileage Claim Form	11/04/2011	132k
Fostering - Recognise the qualities you've got	14/06/2011	2864k
Fostering Service - Statement of Purpose 2011 - 2012	07/02/2012	289k
Guide to the Payment of Foster Carers - April 2011 - March 2012	30/03/2011	116k
Looked after babies	12/08/2011	1010k