Our meeting on Wednesday 23 February 2022 was a meeting with a speaker, held on a very special occasion. The meeting was held on-line, and had a speaker from the independent fostering agency – Capstone Foster Care (www.capstonefostercare.co.uk).
The very special occasion was Rotary’s 117th Birthday, and although there was no cake to be shared at the on-line meeting, the members did raise a glass to toast our own organisation.
Our speaker was Fiona Persich, who works for Capstone Foster Care as one of the team finding and recruiting the new foster carers. There are currently an estimated 80,000 children in England living in foster care with their foster parents. That figure is forecast to rise to 100,000 by 2025. The problem is that the same forecast shows a shortfall of some 25,000 foster caring opportunities for children in England by the same date.
Fiona took us through the history of Capstone Foster Care, and how it is currently organised as an Employee Ownership Trust, and what is stands for with its core values. We learned exactly what constitutes foster care and some popular myths about foster care were laid to rest. There are strict criteria, and Fiona took us through those explaining how they are applied. The seven different types of foster caring were explained, and we were introduced to the types of support that are provided to the foster carers.
To become a foster carer requires passing a significant assessment process that can take up to 6 months, but it is the non-financial rewards that keep people in the role – something that Rotarians understand and share. The talk led to many questions, and a significant round of applause for a first-class, detailed talk from an expert in the field.
