A couple who helped to raise over 100 children have opened up about what they think is the “best part” of being a foster carer.
Chris and Jane, from Neath Port Talbot in Wales, have fostered more than 100 children over the course of 24 years.
While fostering isn’t without its challenges – foster parents may have to navigate challenging behaviours or childhood trauma – for Chris and Jane, the benefits outweigh any negatives.
“It is a journey – when you see the child coming in and you work really hard with that child, and when you see the outcome, it’s so rewarding,” Jane said.
Chris added: “A child’s life has been improved by coming to you, that’s the best part about being a foster carer.”
According to The Fostering Network, the number of children in care is continuing to rise each year. Over 100,000 children were in the care system in the UK in 2023.
Chris and Jane have opened up about how their social worker has “become a part of the family” in a bid to challenge misconceptions about social workers.
Gerald Walker has been the couple’s social worker for the past six years but has been in the profession since 2010.
In that time, he says he’s identified several common misconceptions he comes up against including social workers being viewed as “child snatchers” or wanting to break up families.
But for Chris and Jane, that doesn’t ring true.
“It can be a bit daunting if you’ve never worked with social workers before, but at the end of the day, when you meet someone like Gerald, you realise the main priority is just looking after the children,” said Jane.
“He has been a consistent source of support, always at the end of the phone to give advice and he is loved by all our family.”
Gerald said social work, for him, is about ensuring every family has 24/7 access to support and creating personal connections with both foster carers and children.
“Seeing those children grow and reaching their potential, it is really touching and that is what social work is all about for me,” he said.
“I want to thank all foster carers. All foster carers have a loving heart. They can share that love, they can share that experience and sharing that with the community – I think more people will come forward to be foster carers.”
A new survey commissioned by Foster Wales, the national network of 22 Welsh local authority fostering teams, found that nearly a third of foster carers said their view of social workers was formed by the media.
One anonymous social worker said in their response to Foster Wales’ survey: “Some people still believe social workers are only there to remove children from families and that they are paid extra to do so.”
More than a quarter (27%) of social workers said they believe potential carers fear being judged – and this is a barrier stopping people coming forward to be foster carers.
Yet 90% of foster carer respondents said their social worker had either gone “above and beyond” in their role or helped them overcome a challenge during their fostering journey, according to Foster Wales’ poll.
You can find out more about becoming a foster parent on the UK government’s website.