“Do you care enough to foster”, is the message behind Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s latest campaign to find homes for looked-after children.
It is essential for the children and young people who are looked after by Rhondda Cynon Taf to know that there is someone who will care for them and about them in a homely environment.
It is a massive priority for the authority to find local care for local children within the County Borough to protect vulnerable young people from the added distress of being removed from their own homes and familiar environments and moved as far afield as Bristol or Gloucester because there are no available carers in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
As such, a new advertising campaign has been launched that sees advertisements on billboards, eye-catching adverts on buses, as well as appeals via radio, the media and the Council’s digi-tv channel.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is looking for people to join the committed dedicated band of foster carers who are willing to share their homes and lives to look after the children and young people who most need their care.
Rhondda Cynon Taf has dedicated carers from all walks of life.
Foster carers offer both short and long term placements as well as respite placements for the children who need short breaks either to maintain family life or to support the current foster carers. All our carers are able to support and guide the children and young people they care for and give them the positive experience they can take into adult life.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Foster Care team look after children from babies through to eighteen year olds and carers work with them to decide whether they are most suited to younger or older children and young people.
Cllr Annette Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Equalities, said: “We are very proud of this campaign and hope it can continue to support our efforts to find the best-possible homes for children and young people.
“Foster Carers are invaluable to our County Borough and provide loving homes for vulnerable children, who may otherwise face a very different life.
“We still need foster carers to come forward and help the hundreds of children who are still waiting to be loved so, if you think you could open your heart and home to a child in need, please get in touch with the Council.”
All carers receive professional support and training, with the chance to secure formal qualifications in childcare as well as the fees and allowances which enable them to offer appropriate care within their own families. There is also free leisure access within Rhondda Cynon Taf for up to 4 members of the family.
For more information on how to become a foster carer and make a difference to the future of a child – while also securing generous benefits, training and professional support – contact 0800 085 2635, email [email protected] or visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/fostercare
