“Thank you social services and government for your help and care. I never believed I would be loved. There is now a big rainbow in my life instead of darkness.” Those are the words of a young victim of people trafficking who has written a heart-warming letter thanking his foster carer and social workers for…
The latest annual report from Kent County Council’s (KCC) fostering service shows continued improvements to the support available to foster carers and children in care. Despite nationwide challenges in foster care recruitment, KCC recruited 78 new carers last year and improved on the average time it takes new carers to go through the approval process,…
Young refugees and asylum seekers have created an art exhibition inspired by their journeys to Kent and hopes for the future. The project was launched at Turner Contemporary in Margate to mark Refugee Week before being put on a show at libraries across the county. The collection features 20 paintings, drawings, sculptures and murals by…
Kent County Council (KCC) is looking to recruit 150 new foster carers to provide loving homes to vulnerable children in the county. The council is backing the national recruitment campaign Foster Care Fortnight 2019 (May 13 – 26) and calling on residents to get in touch to find out how they can change a child’s…
Foster carers and staff from across Kent have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the lives of the county’s children. More than 120 people were nominated for this year’s Kent County Council’s (KCC) Fostering Appreciation Awards at Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. Children, social workers and other foster carers put forward recommendations to a…
Kent County Council (KCC) has relaunched its website for children in care and care leavers to make it more accessible. Kent Cares Town was launched in 2012 as a one-stop shop for young people and professionals to access a wealth of information around being in care. The website is run by Virtual School Kent (VSK),…
The number of people notifying Kent County Council (KCC) about private fostering arrangements has reached a ten-year high. Private foster carers are people who look after a child under 16 (or under 18 with disabilities) full-time for 28 consecutive days or more and are not a parent or close relative. Those planning to care or…
Kent County Council (KCC) needs more than 150 new households to join its team of foster carers and help change the future of vulnerable children in the county. The Local Authority is backing Foster Care Fortnight 2018, the UK’s biggest foster carer recruitment campaign which runs until May 27. Lucy Buck, 48 and from Folkestone,…
For almost 20 years KCC foster carers Mary and Bob Howse have opened their home to disabled children with complex needs. So, when asked to appear on Channel 5’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, they leapt at the chance to raise awareness about the vital lifeline short break fostering placements…
Kent County Council foster carers have thanked a Boughton Monchelsea mum for donating hundreds of chocolate eggs to children in care. More than 200 were collected by foster carers Emily Lydamore and Michelle Slater for the Easter Scavenger Hunt at Pegwell Bay Country Park, Cliffsend, Ramsgate on Tuesday, April 10. The rest will be distributed…
Can you open your home and heart to an adult who needs your support? If so, Kent County Council’s Shared Lives service wants to hear from you. Kent Shared Lives is hosting information meetings explaining how to become a host, a paid role supporting people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, autism, sensory impairment or…
For many children in care, their brother or sister may have been the one constant presence in their lives. They may be the only person who truly understands and shares their experiences and can help them make sense of their new lives. That’s why in National Adoption Week 2017 Kent County Council will be focussing…