11 May 2007
Department of Health and Social Services
News Release 11th May 2007
Monday 14
th May sees the launch of Foster Care Fortnight, an annual awareness campaign promoted by the Fostering Network in the UK. The event is an opportunity for all fostering services to highlight the urgent need for more foster carers in their local area. This year the UK events will be supported by the children’s author Jacqueline Wilson and TV presenter Gabby Logan.
This year the launch of the event also marks the start of an exciting time for Fostering & Adoption in Jersey as the previously named Homefinding Team, re-launches as FOSTERING & ADOPTION JERSEY and starts a year long media campaign backed by the Jersey Evening Post and Channel 103.
The media campaign is multi-faceted, aiming to highlight the need for more and different carers whilst attempting to break down the misconceptions about who can be a carer and the skills & experience sought. There is clear emphasis on the different types of carer needed and how different people, married, single, gay, young, old, working, unemployed etc can help our children in some way. Currently the team is looking to develop a range of short and long term foster placements both on a full time and respite basis. Furthermore there is a growing need to provide ongoing family based placements for some of the teenagers already looked after in our residential homes and to provide supported lodgings for young people leaving the care system.
The team are also keen to address the preconceived ideas about the children and young people we look after. Articles on air and in the Evening Post will attempt to redress the thought that all children in the care system have been abused or are difficult to look after and care for.
The final and in many ways most important strand of the immediate campaign is the launch of a ‘roaming news banner’ which will move across the island during the fortnight and in the weeks following it. The banner, which focuses on the need for permanent carers for our children, will move from site to site with the message changing a number of times as it moves. As this happens the banner will appear to become more damaged and ‘weathered’, signifying the harm & damage that can be done to children moved too many times when they have no placement stability. Articles in the press will aim to reinforce this message giving specific information about the need to recruit long term foster carers and adopters - particularly for older children (over 5yrs), children from different ethnic backgrounds and small groups of brothers and sisters from the same family.
For further information about the team’s work, about Foster Care Fortnight and our ongoing campaign please contact:
Sean Pontin – Team Manager - 01534 445271, email: s.pontin@health.gov.je
Recruitment/Duty Officer – 01534 445273, email: familyfinding@health.gov.je
Click here for banner information
gov.je