Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council to become a ‘Fostering Friendly’ organisation

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is well on its way to being recognised as a ‘Fostering Friendly’ organisation. In March the Council agreed a new policy that supports any employee who wants to foster for them and any existing employees who are foster carers for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, with additional paid leave.

This is a big step forward in their commitment to gain Fostering Friendly accreditation from leading charity The Fostering Network. This policy is just one of several steps the Council is taking to create a supportive environment for current and potential foster carers in the workplace.

Any Council employee who is applying to become an approved foster carer with them may be granted up to 5 days paid leave per annum to attend pre approval training, home assessment visits or to attend foster panel as part of their assessment. Employees who are already an approved foster carer for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council may be granted 5 days paid leave per annum to attend meetings, training or to deal with an unexpected/emergency situation in respect of a child in their care.

Councillor Chris Davies, Cabinet Member for Social Services, said: “We need more people to become foster carers and I hope this encourages more of our employees to come forward for assessment. This policy update recognises that fostering can be challenging and aims to provide our carers with the support and flexibility to help them manage that.”

It is hoped that other employers within Merthyr Tydfil can adopt a similar policy to the Council and support their own employees if they want to become Foster Carers for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council too.

To find out more about fostering for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council visit www.fostercwmtaf.co.uk or you can call us for a chat on 01443 425007 today.