In June, we celebrated 10 years of the Dedicated Placement Support Team (DPST)!
In 2015, I was tasked with considering what we did with one of our children’s homes in Wigston. The property was a purpose built 12-bed house in need of significant work and was far too big for our needs.
I started my career in residential care the late 1980s and have managed a number of children’s homes. I loved working in residential care and have really seen the positive impact it can have; I have so many positive memories of the children who I supported over the years.
However, the practice was very much that residential care was the last stop for these young people, and the opportunity for them to return to any kind of family-based care was minimal.
We needed to do better.
Papers and consultations were undertaken, and it was agreed that we would commence the closure of the home and move the staffing budget to work in a different way.
In June 2016, the DPST was launched to support fostering placement stability. Since then, and continuing to this day, the team aims to:
- keep young people with their foster carers
- work with young people to step them back into foster care or home to birth parents
- support a new kind of specialist foster carer (now known as our One2One foster carers)
- undertake direct work with young people and their carers to understand and change behaviours
- support retention activities for our carers
Fast forward 10 years, the DPST is now 8-strong, and we estimate that the team have supported over 700 fostering families with a range of unique challenges.
This team will always be special to me. It was a pipe dream and an opportunity to really make a difference for our children and young people by helping them on their road to independence, surrounded by carers and staff who understand their journey.
Read what a birth parent who was assisted by our team said about her experience:
I am a mum who has been supported by the team since my son was returned to my care.
At first, I was very wary about letting support into my life. I found it hard to trust anyone. However, I decided to give it a chance - and I’m so glad I did.
Julie (Placement Support Worker) is an absolute credit to Leicestershire County Council. She has supported my son through so many of his difficulties, including his sensory issues and the many questions he has that I sometimes struggle to answer.
Julie has also gone above and beyond to support me personally. As someone who has never had a teenager at home before, I’ve really valued her help. She’s supported me with filling out forms, applying for benefits, getting a new cooker, and even accompanied me to a medical appointment where I was recently diagnosed with ADHD.
My family will truly miss Julie when the time comes for her support to end. She has made such a difference in our lives, and we will always be grateful for her kindness, patience, and understanding.
Person:Anonymous birth parent
To learn more about fostering, including the support that the county council offers to foster carers, visit our website or contact the fostering team by emailing fostering@leics.gov.uk or calling 0116 305 0505.