TEN per cent of children who need a foster carer in York are unable to find one in the city. Foster carers Liz and Ron Muir tell health reporter Kate Liptrot why more people - particularly those from a health or caring background - should consider it.

LIZ and Ron Muir must have one of the largest extended families in York. 

The clues are in their sunny home; the huge 14-person table at the end of the garden and the sideboard crammed with pictures of happy memories.

Over the last 12 years the couple have offered a home to up to 100 children and young people in York, from emergency stays when parents have had accidents or when children can no longer stay with their guardians, to longer-term stays lasting for years.

But no matter how long they stay, every child to have stepped into their home in Viking Road has been warmly welcomed and has become a part of their huge extended family. 

“When those children come into care they can be at their lowest,” Ron said, “Often they have not or very little self- esteem. 

“We give them a voice and a purpose. We encourage them to continue with their schooling and show they can achieve what they want to if they work hard.

“Being in foster care can help them see there will be good times in the future.”

Now 54, Liz and Ron, who are parents to two and grandparents to four, look after two children at a time. 

They have typically taken in teenagers but have looked after children of all ages and are given support and training by City of York Council and a network of foster carers.

They make sure the children have happy memories in their care, taking them caravanning at the weekend and even taking some on far flung trips to Kenya and Egypt. 

As City of York Council has spoken of a shortage in foster carers, particularly for older children or those with additional needs, full time foster carers Liz and Ron have told of how rewarding they find the role. 

They have supported the appeal for those with a health, caring or educational background to come forward.

It’s the smallest things which mean the most, Liz said, such as when two young children who had arrived in silence started to chatter at breakfast or seeing their foster child skip down the street.

“Some of the most rewarding placements can be challenging,” Liz said, recalling a teenager who turned round her fortunes to go to university and become a nurse. 

“She was an average teenager, she wanted to be out with her mates all the time and she was going missing. 

“She has turned out to be very level-headed. She has her own place and family and is a wonderful person.

“She just had a bad start and she was misunderstood.” 

In a smiling picture on the wall of their living room is a picture of Robert and Elizabeth Walker, Liz’s late grandparents and namesake, who fostered many children in Scotland and inspired Liz to follow suit. 

“For me, because I had seen the positive side of fostering I always wanted to become one. I wanted to give children the experience I had seen from my gran and grandad.

“I don’t think there’s anything more rewarding than having a young person leave your care and go one to university and to know they are going to have chances. They don’t come back straight away but eventually you get a knock on the door and they come round with their kids. It’s lovely and it extends our family.”

Both said they would encourage anyone who has thought of fostering to look into it, people of all ages, gender and relationship status can be eligible. 

Ron said: “We just need foster carers that have time, patience and an understanding of young people.” 

 -  CITY of York Council is hoping to recruit more foster carers, especially those who can look after an older child or young person with additional needs.

The authority is appealing for people with experience of health, caring and education or youth work to consider fostering.

At the moment, the ten per cent of fostered children who can’t be found a York foster carer are matched by independent fostering agencies to approved carers who may not live in the city. 

As a result, they live in wider Yorkshire which can affect their links with birth families, school and health services. 

Howard Lovelady, group manager at City of York Council, said: “We are so lucky to have over 115 dedicated foster households in York who ensure that 90 per cent of York’s fostered children and young people are cared for in the city near their birth families, school and health services. But we’d like to recruit more local carers to give even more of our fostered children and young people the best possible experience.

“There has always been a need for foster carers for teenagers and disabled young people and, with a number of recent retirements, we are looking for more people who want to commit to a career in fostering and who can use their professional skills to rise to that challenge: giving an older child or young person with additional needs the care and support of a loving and safe foster home.

“We’re not interested in your age or whether you already have children, but you do need the time, space, energy and expertise to dedicate to a child in need. We’ll give you all the support you need and a financial package to match.”

Besides ongoing training and support for carers from the council’s team as well as from local foster carers, a financial package is provided that recognises the foster carer’s commitment and care and the level of need they support.

Currently York has 150 children and young people in foster care and no child waits for a placement. 

For more information on how you can get involved with fostering in York visit www.york.gov.uk/fostering, email fostering@york.gov.uk or phone 01904 555333 at any time to talk about it.