'If Beccy learned a new word or sign we'd feel like we had won the lottery'

DIANE has been a foster carer for four years. In that time, she has welcomed into her home seven youngsters from difficult backgrounds whose parents were unable to take care of them. Whatever time of the day you bump into her, she is fizzing with energy and full of whatshe's been up to lately with the two lads of 10 and 11 who are currently in her care.

"They're lovely boys, and we have a lot of fun. We like riding bikes, going to the cinema, playing games, going on holiday. I'm like a big kid and they help to keep me young. I feel I have more patience with them than I did when I was bringing up my own children and working at the same time."

Diane has a directness and level-headedness about her – the type of woman who isn't easily ruffled. Single and in her mid-50s, her job as an IT trainer with disabled and vulnerable adults ended in redundancy when funding was lost. She saw a newspaper feature about a foster carer, and the satisfactions described ticked all of Diane's boxes too.

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"I have a lot of energy and caring to give," she says. "I went to an open evening to find out more, and knew it was for me." Over the following weeks, the local authority carried out background checks on Diane and those close to her who might come into contact with any children in her care. She did six weeks' training, and talked through her intentions with her then 30-something son and daughter. She signed up for short-term foster care, which can mean children staying up to two years. "I try to treat the children I look after the same as I would my own," says Diane, who's 60. "I find the job immensely pleasurable, but looking after children in general can be a bit of a thankless task on occasions. It's no different when you're a foster carer."

The first two children to arrive at Diane's four-bedroom home in West Yorkshire were, like most who need foster care, from very troubled homes ("one of them had probably been abused at a young age") and carried a lot of emotional baggage, she says. Behaviour can be challenging, but Diane has always felt well supported in her work.

"I have to do 35 hours further training each year, so I'm learning more all the time about behavioural issues and how to deal with them.

There's also an emergency duty team I can ring for help at any time. I have a social worker and so does each of the children, and they visit every six weeks to discuss how we're doing. One of the downsides is red tape – for instance to take a child for a hair cut I need permission from their parent."

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One boy Diane cared for went back to his mum at the end of the placement because she had sorted out her problems. "That was a really good result. You obviously get emotionally attached to them, but learn to let go. I don't keep in touch afterwards."

She has looked after two siblings for a few weeks while their mum was in hospital, and a 16-year-old foreign girl (thought to have been trafficked) who spoke no English, had no documents and was found wandering around a town centre alone at night. Diane home tutored her in English, and the girl stayed until she moved out to live with her boyfriend.

For the last couple of years Diane has looked after two boys, and she has agreed to keep them long-term, possibly until they are 18. She has no worries about fostering until she is nearer to 70 than 60. "There's a great network of around 20 foster carers I know within a few miles, including some in their 70s. If someone has the energy and does the job well, then making them retire at a certain age seems wrong."

Diane can't talk in detail about the children she has cared for, but they have included one who couldn't control his temper at all at first, and another who was an habitual runaway. "He didn't do it with me. His behaviour was difficult, but he calmed down after a few weeks. You have to be prepared for them to tell you things in their own time, if they want to and they can do it at the funniest moments. I like to think I do my bit to help them heal."

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Increased vigilance by social workers since the case of Baby P means there have been more care applications regarding children living with potentially abusive parents. There was already a 10,000 shortfall in available foster carers, but after the court case last summer, applications for placements increased 47 per cent over three months compared with the same period in 2008.

The dearth of carers means children have to stay in care homes or go to a foster home far away from their own neighbourhood, resulting in a change of school and losing touch with friends. Even local authorities like Bradford which do not have a shortage of foster carers willing

to take on children without disabilities, have problems finding foster carers for youngsters with impairments.

Over in East Yorkshire, Sue Harker had worked with children with

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special needs in a mainstream school for years before she applied to be a short-break carer for Barnardo's 20 years ago. She and her husband, Peter, had three children of their own still at home who all had to be consulted about having a young person with disabilities living with

them every few weekends.

"It started because I knew a grandmother who was caring for a disabled granddaughter, and she seemed so tired," says Sue.

"I spoke to my husband about what we could do to help." Over the years, Sue and Peter have looked after many young people with disabilities while their full-time carers have a rest.

Behaviour can be challenging and communication for some of the children can be difficult, depending on their level of disability, but Sue looks back on all of the young people with undiluted pleasure: "One boy could only communicate with his eyes. We were told he had around a year to live, but he came to us for 10 years. I can't explain how hard it is when you get to know a child like this and then lose them, but it's about making their life better when they're with us. You get to know the person and look past the disability."

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Sue and Peter met Beccy when she was three years old. She has Down's Syndrome, and back then was being cared for by her mum and grandmother but also living in a hostel for special needs children.

"Beccy was gorgeous but her behaviour could be horrendous," says Sue, who lives near Hull. "But there was a real vulnerability to her and we wanted to protect her." Beccy joined the Harker family for weekends at first, but soon her own family could no longer cope and Sue and Peter, a part-time property renovator, agreed to have her full-time.

Beccy is now 18 and still one of the family, as is Tim (for 15 years) and Anne-Marie, who's been there for four years. Sue, 53, clearly loves her job. "You shouldn't underestimate the rewards of living with a disabled child. If she learned a new word or sign we'd feel like we'd won the Lottery. There are difficult times but we get through them."

Sue herself now benefits from short-breaks offered by Barnardo's. One of the charity's social workers introduced Sue to Hellene and Mike Stephenson and their family, from Bridlington, feeling they had a lot in common. Spending time apart from Sue and Peter was also helpful in encouraging greater independence in Beccy.

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Hellene works as a care assistant locally and Mike is a taxi driver. Hellene applied to be a short-break carer two and a half years ago. Sue felt anxious that no-one could care for Beccy as well as she did, but that fear was banished once they all gave it a go. Hellene also looks after a disabled young man one night a month.

"Beccy has speech problems and I worried that I wouldn't understand her," says Hellene, who's 51. "But she taught me the signs she uses. When she comes to us she loves to go shopping, visit friends, take the dogs out, and go to the amusement arcades sometimes. It's not always 100 per cent rosy, for instance she can throw a tantrum if she doesn't understand a situation. But she fitted in quickly with the family and there are no hidden agendas with Beccy.

"It's such a rewarding job. I like to think that if I was in a

situation like theirs, someone would do what I do for me. Sue does far more than me. We have all become good friends and I admire her immensely."

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According to Barnardo's, 79 per cent of Yorkshire people have never considered fostering. "Fostering can be challenging but the rewards are immeasurable (because) you are helping to turn children's lives around," says Peter Allinson, the charity's director for Yorkshire. "Nothing compares to the experience of good quality family life."

n For more information about fostering, call 01274 496937 or visit the website at www.barnardos.org.uk/fostering and adoption