Jane and Ruth – TACT Foster Carers since 2016
South Coast
“We have been fostering for 6 years in total. We have had many challenges along the way, but with support we feel we have been able to make a difference to children’s lives – which is the reason why we wanted to become foster carers.
After fostering for 6 years, we decided to transfer to TACT. We were feeling a little unsettled within the fostering agency we were with, it seemed to become more ‘business like’ and less ‘child-focused’. I did some research and we liked TACT due to its charity status. I then read some very interesting articles written by the Chief Executive, and felt that he had a real passion for improving children’s services. He had also been a foster carer himself, and so we felt that he would have a good understanding of carers needs.
Our first ever placement, 6 years ago, was extremely challenging and we decided we need some time to reflect and decide if we were able to continue fostering. With support from our Supervising Social Worker, other foster carers, family and friends, we decided to continue…
Since then we have fostered; a 14 year old boy, for 4 years until he reached independence, and we are still in contact with him now, nearly 2 years later! We’ve also fostered siblings (aged 5, 7 and 10) for 9 months, through to their transition to live with their grandparents and we are still in contact with the whole family.
Each child has very different needs and we have learnt a huge amount about the impact of trauma on a child’s development, as well as a lot about ourselves!”
