A new recruitment hub has been launched to recruit urgently required foster carers across Cumbria and Lancashire.

The Regional Fostering Recruitment and Retention Hub was established as part of a £1.2m successful regional bid between Blackburn with Darwen Council, Blackpool Council, Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, and Lancashire County Council to increase foster care recruitment in the region.

The hub was created in line with the Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, which involves the government investing £36m to increase the number of foster carers countrywide.

The Foster With Us initiative operates from within the hub and acts as the first point of interaction for people interested in fostering.

The goal is to help prospective foster carers make an educated decision about how fostering might work for them.

To ensure comprehensive support through the application process, a team of fostering advisors will be available seven days a week.

The advisors will guide applicants through each step of their application, including review and checks.

In addition to this, a buddy scheme will provide regular check-ins with current foster carers and young people, and access to a wide range of free training.

760 more foster carers are needed in the north west alone to meet the record numbers of children entering the care system.

Across the five local authorities, of 152 children aged 0 to 18 waiting for foster homes, 19 are sibling groups waiting for people who can provide a shared home and avoid separation.

Cllr Sue Sanderson, cabinet member for children's services, education and skills at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: "We urgently need to recruit more foster carers for children across Cumbria and the new regional recruitment hub, Foster With Us, will help us to address the recruitment challenges our councils are currently facing.

"The new hub makes it easier than ever for people to find out more about becoming a foster carer in their local area and will work across our five local authority areas to ensure the best outcomes for children who need a foster home.

"At Westmorland and Furness Council we welcome people from all walks of life and all backgrounds into the fostering community, to make sure every child in foster care finds the right placement.

"Working with our partners across the region, we remain committed to cared for children being safe and having the love and opportunities we want for all our children."

There are many reasons why children and young people need foster care.

They may have experienced family problems, abuse, neglect, or their parents may have short-term illnesses, mental health issues, learning difficulties or problems with drug or alcohol misuse.

A diverse pool of foster carers from different backgrounds makes it more likely that these varying needs can be accommodated.

Cllr Emma Williamson, executive member for children and family wellbeing at Cumberland Council, said: "For the first time, anyone considering fostering in the region will benefit from a unified support hub for prospective foster carers, with help available every step of the way.

"In Cumberland providing safe and loving homes for our cared for children is one of our most important priorities and we hope that by working with our partners across the region, we can ensure the best outcomes for children who need a foster home.

"There are more than 700 children and young people across Cumbria who are in the care of their local council.

"A shortage of foster carers mean that some of our most vulnerable children live out of the county and away from their school, friends and family and everything familiar to them.

"Foster With Us has been launched to provide crucial support to prospective carers when they need it most and to get the word out across our region that sharing your home can shape a child's future for the better.

"If you are interested in being a foster carer, please get in touch."

To provide the best possible support for foster carers, Foster With Us will introduce the award-winning Mockingbird model, which is led by The Fostering Network.

The approach creates communities of up to ten foster families, all centred around a hub home, where an experienced foster carer provides support to all families within the constellation.

The approach has been shown to improve stability for children in care, prioritise sibling connections, promote active child protection, support permanence and improve the support provided to foster carers.

The Department for Education supports the Foster With Us initiative, and children who have been in foster care have helped shape it.

For more information or to speak to someone from the Foster With Us team, visit fosterwithus.org.uk or call 0300 019 0200.