Carolina House Trust is one of Scotland’s oldest children’s charities, supporting foster carers and the children and young people in their care. The charity supports carers in offering family-based care to children and young people who cannot live with their own family for as long as necessary.

On Thursday, 5 September 2024, Carolina House Trust, a finalist in the ‘People Pioneer’ category of the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce Awards, is hosting a free event for Chamber members to help support staff who also look after vulnerable children and young people.

From flexible working around hours and place of work to offering ‘bedding in’ time for carers at the start of fostering placements, employers might also consider offering an employee assistance programme giving staff access to counselling, a GP or legal advice. Meanwhile, just as unpaid carers are entitled to one week’s unpaid leave, the Trust believes that could be extended to foster carers, paid if possible, while time off could also be given for appointments, many of which are mandatory.

The DACC123 event, ‘Supporting Foster Carers at Work’ will also showcase the diverse range of transferable skills that many foster carers can bring to the workplace.

Sara Lovelock, chief operating officer of Carolina House Trust, said: “There is currently a huge shortage of foster carers across Scotland, not helped by the cost of living crisis and the fact that many employers may not have considered how to support staff who are also fostering. Our fear is that if people don’t think their employer will be flexible and considerate, they’ll put fostering on hold or dismiss it altogether as simply unviable.

“While we discourage our primary foster carers from working, secondary carers, one of the spouses or partners perhaps, often work. Short break and host family carers can also work so we’d like to support more employers to facilitate that.

“We also want to show employers how attractive foster carers might be within their workforce. As responsible, reliable individuals, foster carers bring a unique skillset to the world of work, from resilience and emotional intelligence to strengths in motivating others and managing difficult conversations and challenging situations. Accustomed to advocating for the young person in their care, foster carers are skilled at working with people from other agencies, making their points with confidence and empathy. Together, their skills can be hugely valuable and transferable when nurtured. Employers would do well to consider and retain these people.

“We’ll also encourage employers to take a look at their values and their culture and identify how they relate to looking after vulnerable children and young people. What workplace skills and training might be transferable from the workplace to supporting young people at home?”

The DACC123 event will be held at Carolina House Trust from 11.30am until 2.30pm on Thursday 5 September 2024. To book a place, members can visit here.

The Scottish Housing News Charity Spotlight feature highlights the vital work of charities across Scotland each Friday. To include your local charity, whether housing-related or not, send your story and images to us at newsdesk@scottishnews.com.