Posted on Thursday 13th June 2024
Foster Carer Neil Hamilton
Professionals looking for a change of career are being encouraged to consider becoming a specialist resilience foster carer.
Staffordshire County Council’s fostering service is looking for people who have specialist skills and experience working with children and young people who have had a difficult start to life.
Former teachers, uniformed services, health workers and residential care workers are some of the people being targeted in the latest campaign.
Resilience foster carers will typically care for children and young people moving out of residential care into their family home. People joining the team can expect a generous fostering salary of up to £42,788 per year. Regular short breaks, round the clock support and on-going training are also available for those joining.
As a resilience foster carer, you will support the young person in your care to develop positive relationships, improve their educational engagement and improve their emotional wellbeing.
Staffordshire foster Carer Neil Hamilton, who formerly worked in education said:
“Resilience fostering can be a challenge and it’s not for everyone but the rewards of seeing your young person flourish is amazing.
“I’ve never experienced the sense of making a difference in any other role I have had, it really is humbling. The training and ongoing support you get along the way is second to none, and you’re never on your own. I’d definitely encourage anyone interested in the challenge of helping turn a young person’s life around to get in touch with the service.”
The service is ideally looking for people who are patient, caring, emotionally resilient and good communicators.
Neelam Bhardwaja, Director for Children and Families at Staffordshire County Council said:
“We are looking for incredible people with the right experience to support our children in care.
“Our resilience fostering scheme allows us to move children and young people out of residential care and back into a family home. This means they can be part of a loving family and get the best possible start in life.
“Being a resilience foster carer is hard work, but also incredibly rewarding to know that you're making a positive impact on a young person's life. We’re looking for people who can provide long-term or short-term, high-quality support. If this sounds like you, the service would love to hear from you.”
People interested in finding out more can attend an online information event on Thursday 27 June at 6pm. Further details are available on the Staffordshire County Council resilience fostering webpage.