New Research Highlights the Expertise and Support Provided by Social Workers in Carmarthenshire to Encourage More People to Foster

With over 7,000 young people in care across Wales, the need for more foster carers is increasingly pressing. In Carmarthenshire alone, there are 148 children in foster care, while many more foster carers are still needed to meet the growing demand.

Earlier this year, the national network of 22 Welsh local authority fostering services, Foster Wales, launched a campaign to recruit an additional 800 foster families by 2026. As part of this effort, Foster Wales Carmarthenshire has joined the ‘Bring Something to the Table’ campaign to share realistic experiences from the fostering community and address common misconceptions that prevent potential carers from making enquiries.

Some common barriers include a lack of confidence, misbeliefs around criteria, and the assumption that fostering doesn’t align with certain lifestyles.

The latest phase of the campaign spotlights the essential role of social workers within foster care and the ‘support bubble’ surrounding foster carers. The phase aims to provide potential foster carers with:

1. Clear information about the social workers’ role and the support network available to foster carers.
2. Confidence that social workers are caring, proactive professionals who work hard to support both children and young people, and foster carers.
3. Motivation to begin their fostering journey with their local authority.

A recent YouGov public survey highlights the challenging perceptions around social work, with only 44% of respondents saying that social work is well-respected. Almost two-fifths (39%) of adults surveyed felt that social workers “often got things wrong”, while only 11% of social workers themselves believe their profession is well-respected.

The ‘Bring Something to the Table’ campaign is supported by a new survey, conducted to better understand the perceptions and motivations of social workers. The survey gathered responses from 309 social workers, support workers and foster carers, with the key findings including:

• 78% of social workers entered the profession to support and help families.
• 18% of foster carers attributed negative perceptions of social workers to news coverage.
• 29% of foster carers initially thought social workers would be “people with heavy caseloads and lots of paperwork.”
• 27% of social workers believe that potential carers fear being judged by professionals.

Kevin, a supervising social worker for Carmarthenshire County Council, has spent 5 years in the role. Kevin said:

I wanted to help people and make a small positive difference within the community I live in.

In the research, foster carers emphasised the importance of close, long-lasting relationships in helping young people overcome challenges. They also dispelled myths about social workers and praised the support they receive.

One foster carer from Carmarthenshire shared their experience:

Our supervising social worker came to watch our children in their stage school production on a Saturday. This meant a lot to our children, as they didn’t have many people there to watch them. Thank you for all your support. We couldn’t do this without you.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services and Children and Families, Cllr. Jane Tremlett, said:

Fostering is one of the most important and rewarding roles in our community. Our foster carers work together with our dedicated social workers to create safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive. We are immensely proud of the unwavering support that social workers provide to our foster carers, and we want to ensure that anyone considering fostering knows they won’t be alone in this journey. With the right support in place, you can truly make a difference to a child’s life and future.

For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry, visit Foster Wales Carmarthenshire.