Devon County Council proposes to spend £1 million
It's in order to target care for vulnerable children more effectively and boost recruitment.
Current fees in Devon do not compare well to neighbouring authorities for entry level foster carers. It means that the council struggles to recruit new foster carers to its in-house fostering service. So it needs to pay higher entry level fees to make recruitment to the service, where there is most demand, an attractive proposition.
There are 270 carers in the Devon service – their ambition is to recruit more to around 300 – and they look after about half of the 700 children in care. It’s an essential service, and why they consider their foster carers to be a very precious resource.
Councillor James Mclnnes, the Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for the service said: “These are dedicated foster carers. They are fundamental to how we look after vulnerable children in our care which is why we value the service they provide so highly. That’s why we’re proposing to protect the current fees for those who would otherwise see a large reduction, while increasing fees at entry level in order to attract new foster carers to our in-house service."
A decision is planned to be made later in the autumn.
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