We started the process to become foster carers a few years ago. We attended the initial intensive mandatory training sessions, staying the course despite intrusive questioning and the air of suspicion that seemed to hang over us because of our religious beliefs.
However it became clear as we began the assessment process that there was no way we could actually afford to be foster carers; as this article says, there was no pay for this 24/7 full-time job, just a rather meagre childcare allowance. We realised shortly afterwards that foster caring, at that stage, was not for us. There may be immense rewards in looking after children in great need, but it is no easy life.
Foster carers deserve immense respect for the work they do, not the perpetual animosity of society and the state.
Last modified: 1 September 2017
