How Hard Is It To Keep Siblings In Foster Care Together?
According to local authorities with the support of leading organisations, there are currently 52.050 children in foster care with 32% of those children under five years of age and 61% aged between 5 and 15. 52% of these children are living with their foster carers on their 18th birthday and 70% of siblings in foster care are placed together.
Why Keeping Siblings Together Is Important
According to local authorities with the support of leading organisations, there are currently 52.050 children in foster care with 32% of those children under five years of age and 61% aged between 5 and 15. 52% of these children are living with their foster carers on their 18th birthday and 70% of siblings in foster care are placed together.
Could this figure be higher though? 70% is quite a large amount but just how important is it to keep children in foster care with their siblings? Surely 100%, although possibly not that achievable, would be something to aim for? Foster care may be a scary experience for children, especially young children, in the beginning of their foster care experience so surely having a sibling with them would ease their worries a little.
We invited some parent bloggers to share their thoughts and opinions on foster care and Rebecca from I Always Believed in Futures says,
“Placing siblings together isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons but as a parent myself, I would think that whilst foster care enables children to fulfil their potential and look forward to a brighter future, being placed with a sibling would make it so much easier, especially if the children are of a younger age.”
Whilst it isn’t always possible to place siblings in care together due to the vast number of children currently in care (find more statistics here), foster care is most definitely a vital service and consistently achieve Good or Outstanding Ofsted rated placements (79% of placements) and this country needs this service to continue doing the great job it is.
Amazed by some of the statistics? Check out our infographic for the full report. Why not share on social media Twitter Facebook and get people talking about the potential of these children in foster care?
If you’d like to learn more about fostering siblings or what is foster care, then please get in touch with our friendly team on 0800 0857 989 - we’d love to hear from you.
