Fostering
While many parents are delighted by the peace and freedom that an empty nest brings, a significant number choose to give other people’s children a good home There are 38,000 foster carers in Britain, and some 25 per cent of them are over 50. “Our target age group is mid-forties to mid-fifties,” says Murray Marks, service co-ordinator for the fostering service of the Catholic Children’s Society. “They tend to be very successful at it: they have usually brought up their own children, they are clear about where they are in life, they are keen to maintain the stability they’ve achieved and they have a genuine interest in and commitment to caring for children. “I’d say half our foster carers are over 50, and it can be a relatively well-paid profession for that age group: we pay up to £300 per child per week. The experience and maturity of foster carers in their fifties and sixties can be invaluable, says Jackie Sanders of the Fostering Network, who points out that on any one day in Britain 47,000 children need foster care and there is an 8,000 shortfall of carers for them. Written by Serena Allott
This article was created: 13 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 11 December 2006.
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