Apparently 'One in five foster carers can't decide if a child they're caring for can get a hair cut', really? I mean REALLY? The piece on the Community Care website goes on to say that 30% of foster carers cannot give permission for a child to stay over with a friend and 17% cannot allow a child to go on a school trip. There are a host of other example's (including 3 weeks to replace a pair of glasses, 16 weeks to 'ok' a school trip) which are frankly at best embarrassing, and at worse disgraceful.
Interesting that today BASW's acting chief executive Bridget Robb argued for Corporate Parenting to be a job for life. I agree with this sentiment entirely, I have never understood how we dare to call ourselves 'parents' when officially support ends so early in the life of a Looked After Child. However, you have to wonder how many Looked After Children would want us involved when decision making is deferred for the smallest thing.
Have to say I have always hated the term 'Corporate Parent' it makes us sounds like Coca-Cola or Adidas sponsoring a child. But the Local Authority which insists on making decisions about hair cuts and school trips is indeed acting like a major corporation and truly is a 'Corporate Parent'.
Do we really need to micro manage a child's life in this way? Foster Carers are well trained and often very experienced people (not mention quite well reimbursed). Surely they need to get on and do the 'job' of being a parent without fear of being reprimanded for making decisions around the child(ren) they care for. What chance does any child have of feeling like their foster home is just their 'home' if they know every request they make will need to be rubber stamped by the Local Authority.
We need to trust our foster carers to do their job, whilst we get on and do ours. My job is not to decide whether a child would be best suited to having their hair spikey or smart (I like spikey by the way), I may coordinate care, but I do not coordinate sleepovers.
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