Jo explains how she and her family started their fostering journey. She explains the process of becoming a foster carer and the benefits of fostering with Calderdale.
Video transcript - Jo
Hi, I’m Jo Needler and I’ve been fostering for Calderdale for 12 years now, and had several children in my care.
I used to work for Calderdale (Council). The Calderdale screensaver kept coming up, ‘would you foster for Calderdale?’, and I thought yeah, why not. I’m asking people how to look after children, vulnerable children, so I thought why don’t I do it myself.
I picked up the phone and started the ball rolling. The process was really easy, the pick up the phone, we attended Skills To Foster, which was really useful for us. It helped us to decide as a family if we wanted
to foster, and then you just go through the Assessment process - I found it really reflective.
You’ve got a good idea of what it’s going to be like, but I don’t think you really do know fostering, and I don’t think anyone can tell you about fostering until you actually do it. Somebody is always on hand to help, through the Assessing Social Workers you can always ask questions, if you’re a bit unsure of how to fill in your form, or where to go with anything, what you’re supposed to do - there’s always somebody to give you an answer.
I love it, obviously, because I’m still here wearing the t-shirt! It’s really rewarding. It can be obviously challenging. Because we’re all in Calderdale, everybody knows everybody if that makes sense, so the process is much easier because we’re in one small borough.
Fostering for Calderdale, all the teams are all under one umbrella, so it’s much easier to get the ball rolling for different things, for meetings or anything, to coordinate things.
The relationship for me now, it’s more like we’re Mum and Dad to the children, because we’ve been in their lives for so long. You know, I’ve had one girl for 12 years, and she’s changed her name to us, and you know, she’s just our girl really, that’s how it is!
For anybody considering fostering, as a whole, I think that you as a family have to fully be on board with it because it does bring its challenges up, but it’s the best and most rewarding thing that you could ever do.
I think there’s nothing better really! So yeah, do it.
