Fostering an idea to help (From Free Press Series)

Fostering an idea to help

CURRENTLY 60 dedicated individuals in Torfaen are sharing their homes and their lives with youngsters in need of help.

The vital role Torfaen's foster parents have in the community has been marked by a special lunch at Greenmeadow Golf Club.

A veteran foster parent of almost 15 years, 53-year-old Rose Davies stressed that the children are the unfortunate victims of adult problems. "The children can come to us for any number of reasons. It could be that their parents are experiencing temporary health problems or just need a break in hard times."

But the number of 'looked after' children in the UK has risen and the trend is reflected in Torfaen.

Children in need of temporary help range in age from six months to 18, and need foster care for a wide variety of reasons.

Mrs Davies now has an eight-year-old and a three-week-old baby in her care with another child making regular monthly visits on respite.

She said: "It may be surprising for some to learn that I have looked after at least seven small babies over the last few years. Young mothers sometimes cannot cope at first with the pressures of having a new baby and need time to get their heads together, or I may look after children when their mums go into hospital - there are a vast number of reasons that children go to foster parents."

Mrs Davies and her husband began fostering children in 1991 and she continued after he died - to date she has given foster care to more than 30 children.

At the recent dinner given in their honour, Director of Social Services Gary Birch thanked foster carers for their "compassion and dedication to improving the lives of these children."

Almost anyone can become a foster parent, subject to necessary police records checks, with the potential to transform a child's life by providing stability and love.

Foster carers give a huge amount to their work as it's a live-in job, but as Mrs Davies reports the rewards are invaluable.

She said: "We have always had lovely feedback - one girl I fostered years ago come to my house and thanked me years later.

"We always had the idea that we mustn't be judgmental of the children's parents - I think, there but for the grace of God."