Warwickshire County Council fostering service is recruiting two foster carers into their short break scheme to provide respite for families who have children or young people with disabilities.Many ...
Warwickshire County Council fostering service is recruiting two foster carers into their short break scheme to provide respite for families who have children or young people with disabilities.
Many families who have children with disabilities benefit from some respite care and the short break scheme allows for a foster carer to be matched with up to six children per year and provide care for an agreed number of days and nights to each child.
June*, a parent from a Warwickshire family who uses the service for her son Tom*, said:
“We feel that the respite care has helped the whole family. We are now able to take our youngest son to his swimming lessons and our daughter also appreciates the time that we have together.”
Anne*, a foster carer who provides respite care for the family by having Tom* to stay once a month for the weekend, added:
“We are just so happy that we are helping a family in need and making a positive difference to the whole family.”
The aim of the scheme is to provide children and young people with disabilities access to overnight short breaks within the community in a family. The consistency of being matched to a foster carer means that the child or young person will benefit from stability and allows carers and family rest knowing that their child is cared for in a familiar environment.
Tracy Avill, operations manager for Warwickshire County Council fostering service, said:
“Foster care comes in many shapes and sizes and our dedicated Short Break Scheme is aimed specifically at families who have children and young people with disbailities.
“The short break scheme means that each family will have a dedicated foster carer who will provide their respite care, creating familiarity for the young person staying overnight and allowing them to build a relationship with the foster carer and have more stability in their placements.
“This is an invaluable role and an opportunity for someone interested to be able to give back to their community, while supporting Warwickshire families in their care for their children.”
Foster carers in the short break scheme can also apply for financial support to make adaptations to their home through Warwickshire County Councils Adaptations policy, enabling them to care for children with a range of disabilities.
For more information, please visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fostering