£12.4 million boost to modernise foster care

Thousands more children and young people will benefit from stable, loving homes as the government launches a new £12.4 million Fostering Innovation Fund to make foster care more accessible and inclusive across England.

The Fund will help fostering around modern lifestyles and household structures, by updating models of foster care, which set out how care should be delivered. 

For too long, foster care has been provided on the assumption that people need to be in traditional, married relationships with only one carer working full time to be successful. The Department for Education reforms aim to attract a younger and more diverse mixture of carers as well as improving the experience of fostering for existing carers.

The new fund will support the modernisation of the foster care system, enabling more flexibility in how care is provided, without compromising on safeguarding standards. Fostering helps to give vulnerable young people the best possible start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

The funding will be allocated to Regional Care Co-operatives and fostering hubs, which are operated by Local Authorities. They will be collaborating with a range of partners, potentially including children's charities and commercial providers to develop and trial innovative new models of foster care 

Children's Minister Josh MacAlister said:

Every child deserves the chance to grow up in a safe and loving home, and I've been truly inspired by the foster carers I have met who make that happen.

This investment will help us bring fostering into the 21st century, moving on from outdated assumptions about who can foster and how care should be offered and opening it up to a wider range of people.

This will help us recruit more carers, and change more children's lives by giving them a stable home.

Innovation in the fostering sector is already being driven forward in many parts of England. For example, a foster carer with four years' experience in Manchester was previously limited to one placement due to space constraints in her home. With a £7,800 grant provided through the local Room Makers scheme run by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, she reconfigured her home and will soon welcome siblings.

Other new forms of care being trialled by some organisations include respite or weekend-only fostering, whereby children spend time with foster carers at weekends or for shorter periods during a week. This can support other forms of long-term care, such as a child in a residential care home or being looked after by extended family members.  

These innovative approaches can improve outcomes for children and families and make fostering more appealing to a wider range of people.

Launched during Foster Care Fortnight, the Fund will help Fostering Hubs and Regional Care Cooperatives to expand successful fostering programmes and trial new ways of supporting foster families and children.

This includes opportunities to form partnerships between organisations so they can more effectively test and develop new approaches.

Sara Fernandez, CEO at NOW Foster, said:  

At Now Foster, we believe fostering should be something many more people can see themselves being part of. Children in care need safe, stable and loving homes, and they also need a village of trusted adults who can stay alongside them as they grow up. We love seeing people step in as Weekenders, building long-term relationships with children when they might not otherwise be able to foster full-time.

These relationships can bring consistency, joy and love to children, while also offering vital support to full-time carers. They also give people a way to build their confidence, skills and understanding of fostering, should they want to foster more in the future. By making fostering more flexible and accessible, we can open the door to more people offering the kinds of enduring relationships that can change a child's life.

Andy Elvin, CEO of TACT, said:  

TACT is delighted by the investment the government are making in foster care. We are equalled thrilled by the attention the Minister is paying fostering and the pace at which he is acting to address longstanding issues in the sector which have been largely ignored in the past decade. Fostering is more than providing a home, it is about providing a future, about showing up when it matters most & about being there for the long term.

Fostering is a commitment and it is heartening that the commitment shown by tens of thousands of foster carers day in , day out in the UK, is now being matched by the Government. This is not just about investing in fostering, it's about investing in the children in our communities who need it the most.

Dame Carol Homden, Coram CEO, said:  

This investment is a timely and clear acknowledgment of the strength and potential of a fostering sector that is already rich with creativity, commitment and practical innovation.

What is particularly encouraging is the opportunity this fund creates for local authorities, independent fostering agencies and wider partners to work together more intentionally, as collaboration is essential if we are serious about improving outcomes for children in care. 

The investment forms part of the government's wider plans to reform and expand foster care, creating 10,000 additional foster care places over the course of this Parliament.

The fund was first announced in February as part of the government's Fostering Action Plan, which set out measures to make fostering more flexible, improve support for carers, and update local authority decision-making processes on who can become a foster carer.

The funding will support projects designed to improve outcomes for children and young people, including initiatives aimed at preventing children from entering residential care unnecessarily and helping them remain in family-based settings wherever possible.

The launch forms part of wider activity planned during Foster Care Fortnight, to raise awareness of fostering and encourage more people to consider becoming foster carers.

Successful applicants to the fund are expected to be announced later this summer following the close of the application process.