Dumfries and Galloway Council continues to provide a very good service to foster carers and children living in foster care according to the latest report from the Care Inspectorate.
The Fostering and Kinship Service inspection was completed on 9 January 2014 and received the following grades:

Quality of Care and Support 5 Very Good
Quality of Staffing 5 Very Good
Quality of Management and Leadership 5 Very Good

Chair of Social Work Services, Councillor Andy Ferguson, said, “Our Fostering and Kinship Service has received very good reports consistently over a number of years. I know that the people in this service have the best interests of children and those who care for them at the heart of everything they do. They can be very proud of the service they provide and I am delighted to congratulate them on this excellent report.”

The Care Inspectorate said that children are benefitting from good quality care from carers who are skilled to meet their needs. Communication and contact with birth parents is consistently well managed where this is part of a child’s care plan.

Vice Chair Councillor Ted Thompson said, “Managers have identified a training programme for staff professional development which will improve the service even further. The staff are supporting foster carers with report writing skills based on the GIRFEC (getting It Right For Every Child) wellbeing indicators.

“Since the last inspection, the service has increased the provision for intensive fostering for children with high support needs and will be advertising for more people to deliver this service in the near future.”

At the time of the inspection, the service supported a total of eighty foster carers. Seventy nine children and young people were placed with approved foster carers.

Between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012 eighteen applications for approval of kinship carers had been agreed, six new foster carers were approved and forty children and young people were placed with foster carers.

At 31 December 2012 no children or young people were awaiting a foster care placement.

Dumfries and Galloway Council commissions Quarriers Fostering Service to provide services for young people affected by disability. 

The report can be viewed on the Care Inspectorate website.