Kim and Barry

Kim and Barry have been fostering for 9 years. They have had many children over this time, including the little boy that was placed with them nearly two years ago.

Kim collected Jake (not his real name) from hospital after a short illness – he was 2 ½ at the time. After a couple of months, he returned to live with his birth family, but unfortunately they were unable to sustain the care he needed, and he stayed once again with Kim and Barry.

Jake thrived and settled into a routine with Kim and Barry. He started pre-school and made friends; he became part of the couple’s family and was loved by all their extended family. He learnt all the important skills that young children need to learn, and made some great attachments within his foster family.

After some difficult decisions and much work involving social workers from the local authority, Jake was able to be considered for adoption. A couple fell in love with his photograph. They met Kim and her supervising social worker from Orange Grove and asked lots of questions about Jake. It was eventually agreed that this couple should become Jake’s new parents, and Jake will be able to move in with his new family very soon.

Kim and Barry are thrilled that they have been able to give Jake the stability and security to enable him to move to a permanent family. They say it is “so rewarding to see children move on in this positive way,” and they are pleased that fostering can make such a difference to children’s lives.

Yvonne

Yvonne has been fostering for nearly three years. She has cared for a number of teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 15. One young person stayed with Yvonne for seven months. She became a part of Yvonne’s family and experienced lots of outings, Christmas, and a live concert to see N-Dubz for her birthday (not really Yvonne’s cup of tea, but she did stay with her throughout the concert!).

This young person moved on to a residential home as she was finding it difficult to cope in a family environment. Yvonne kept in touch with her by phone, and also visited her on occasions. The young person was able to reflect on her positive experiences with Yvonne, and is now ready to move back to another foster placement.

Yvonne said “I have learnt so much since I have been fostering. It is a great challenge and I enjoy seeing the young people learn new skills and move forward with their lives”.