Foster Care Co-operative

Exhibitor

SheffEX December 2014 

The Foster Care Co-operative (FCC) has been placing children in family homes for 15 years and the agency is currently recruiting foster carers across England and Wales so they can respond to the high number of placements requested by Local Authorities.

The Foster Care Co-operative is part of a small group of Not-For-Profit foster care agencies and the only co-operative operating in foster care. 

Any surplus income FCC makes is re-invested to provide more foster care support, more training and towards recruiting more foster carers to give a stable home environment to more children and to give them the chance of family life.

The agency was set up in 1999 by a senior social worker who had fostered for many years and took early retirement to establish The Foster Care Co-operative. His clear ethical approach was to grow organically.

FCC is now a UK wide organisation striving to increase the total number of foster homes by recruiting and training new foster carers to provide stable, loving family homes.

The Foster Care Co-operative is above all child orientated taking great care to match children with foster carers and there is no pressure on staff to place children in order to maximise profit.

FCC has a special culture based on valuing staff and foster carers and the agency is dedicated to providing mutual support that will change a child’s life.

Anyone can foster and carers come from all walks of life. They do need to be reasonably fit and healthy and are subject to criminal disclosure checks.

Carers need to be able to offer a child or children a room of their own as well as offering patience, time and commitment to young people of different ages. A good sense of humour will be a great asset as well as being a good listener and having a flexible and adaptable approach to life. In return the agency offers professional support from fully qualified social workers, full and comprehensive training and a fee which recognises a professional caring role.

For more information about The Foster Care Co-operative please see our website, www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk.