www.cathyglass.co.uk
Cathy Glass
1 Foster carers are not saints, we're just ordinary people with room in our hearts and homes for one more.
2 Same sex couples can foster.
3 Foster carers often have to be firm with the children they look after as well as being kind and loving. Boundaries are essential for all children and are a sign we care.
4 Approximately 40% of foster carers have an unfounded allegation made against them at some point during their career and it is devastating. The children are removed while they are investigated. Many leave fostering as a result of it.
5 There are no set qualifications for being a foster carer. Each applicant is assessed on their merit and what they can bring to fostering.
6 Foster carers have many sleepless nights worrying about the children in their care. In fact we tend to worry more about them than we do our own children.
7 We have been known to nod off during training lectures if the room is warm. We're not used to sitting down for long.
8 Being in care as a child is not a bar to fostering, indeed it can be an asset.
9 It means a lot to a carer when a social worker or parent thanks them.
10 If a relative fosters a child it is called Kinship caring and the carer is vetted, trained and given an allowance the same as a carer who is not related to the child.
