Hertfordshire's Fostering Strategy 2023-25 (PDF, 2.85MB)
Foreword
Jo Fisher – Executive Director of Children’s Services
"In November 2020, Hertfordshire County Council produced its first Fostering Strategy ‘One Team built around the child’ with the aim of all teams, departments and organisations working together as one team to grow and improve fostering in Hertfordshire.
By doing this well, we would have more skilled in-house foster carers who are able to meet the needs of the children and young people in our care and more choice of homes for children who are looked after in Hertfordshire, helping them to achieve good outcomes in a local family environment.
Over the last three years, a number of actions within the strategy have been delivered, including recruiting over 100 new in-house foster carers, introducing a new payment structure, a new support offer and improved training opportunities.
The fostering strategy has been evaluated following consultation with children and young people, foster carers and partners. A new updated version has now been published with a focus on recruitment and retention of foster carers, our support offer, emergency care provision, short breaks and the development of an intensive fostering project."