New foster carers in North Yorkshire are being offered a £500 ‘golden hello’ payment when they are approved to help to provide a fresh start for young people.
From now until 31st December 2023, North Yorkshire Council’s not-for-profit fostering service, Fostering North Yorkshire, is giving £500 to every newly approved foster carer.
The move is part of a summer drive to help recruit more foster carers.
Fostering North Yorkshire currently has 181 foster carers looking after children in care. However, more children are coming into care and there’s a national shortage of carers across the UK.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for children and families, Cllr Janet Sanderson, said: “We are delighted to announce the ‘golden hello’ for all newly approved foster carers between now and the end of December.
“Our foster carers are there day in, day out giving our local children a loving home and offering them support and guidance. Our foster carers are very much appreciated, and we are fully committed to ensuring our foster carers are properly supported and rewarded. We would encourage anyone who has been thinking of fostering to enquire now.”
Children looked after by foster carers in their local area have a better chance of receiving the support they need. Foster carers can provide a home and support to children in care for planned weekends, regular sleepovers, or short breaks, as well as long-term care. Fostering North Yorkshire works with each applicant to see what is right for them.
Carers receive full training and support to help turn young lives around. There are also payments and allowances for every night a carer fosters, most of these are tax-free.
Anyone aged over 21 can foster, and they just need space to care and to be prepared for a challenging but rewarding role.
Rebecca from Cowling fosters with her husband. She's 48 and has three children of her own who are now 18, 21 and 24 and she started fostering when she was a stay-at-home mum looking after her own children.
Rebecca told Rombalds Radio: “I figured I had the time to look after more children since I was a stay-at-home mum, so I took up fostering twenty years ago and I still love what I do. At the moment, we've got four children in our care and they’re 15, 12, 8 and 4.
“Our experience of fostering has only ever been positive. You do get children who are challenging, but at the end of the day they all just need love and looking after until they’re ready to move on.
“We’ve done all sorts of fostering too, from short term, emergency cover and siblings. We’ve had lots of teenagers and babies too. You name it, we’ve done it.
“My advice to anyone thinking of fostering is that if you have the time, then try it. You’re given the training and support needed. Just take it one step at a time and you’ll find it’s a really worthwhile thing to do.
“The children come to you from all sorts of backgrounds so fostering has made me a much more open-minded person and more insightful.”
Visit www.northyorks.gov.uk/fostering to find out more or call 01609 534654 to speak to a member of the Fostering North Yorkshire team.
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