A drive to recruit more foster carers will begin this month.

The Department of Health and Social Care wants to have 75% of children in care placements to be in a family environment, either through mainstream foster carers or adoption.

At present the figure stands at 69%, of which 53% is through fostering.

Social Care Minister David Ashford told the House of Keys: ’The department is currently planning a fostering recruitment campaign and the recruitment campaign will be live next month.’

recruitment

For the past three months the DHSC had been revising recruitment and assessment procedures, along with training and preparation for carers. He added the DHSC had ’engaged with the Fostering Network, the leading fostering charity in the UK to explore new models of work’.

Mr Ashford was responding to a request for an update from Tim Baker (Ayre and Michael).

In his annual report as children’s champion, Mr Baker said improvements to the fostering service were not happening fast enough - causing an increase in the number of children in care homes. He highlighted a ’strained’ relationship between foster carers and the family placement service.

The DHSC took back responsibility for fostering from Isle of Man Children’s Centre in 2018.

Mr Ashford said: ’The problems the service has experienced have led to a decline of trust. It is essential that that trust is rebuilt, because the whole premise of foster caring is built on a trust between foster carers and the department.

’That is absolutely essential and that is what the department is going to work very, hard to be able to re-establish.’