Joanne has been fostering with Capstone for over ten years with Ian joining her on her fostering journey a few years ago. Although, they both began their fostering journey with Capstone at different times, they are enjoying the role and the postive changes it creates. They have had a variety of placements over the years and are excited to continue making a difference to young people's lives.
I have been fostering with Capstone Foster Care for over ten years, Ian joined me on my fostering journey a few years ago. I first started my Capstone fostering journey with my ex-husband, Steve, who still fosters. Ian and I are good friends with Steve, and we help each other out with our foster families.
I first considered fostering after seeing my best friend with her foster family. She had been a foster carer for many years, and she thought it would be something I would be good at, so she suggested I consider fostering. From chatting some more to her, she introduced me to her sister who was already a carer for Capstone Foster Care and from that point onwards you could say the rest was history! I have been with Capstone Foster Care ever since.
Once I decided fostering was something I wanted to do, I decided to share the exciting news with our close family and friends. Most of our family members were positive about it, but others were not too sure, they had doubts that it would be too hard. When I told my children, I was thinking of fostering, they were happy about it.
I was very nervous when I received my first placement as this would be the make or break if I continued my fostering journey. The first placement was quite challenging but using the skills I had learnt from the Capstone training and the support from my social worker, it went well.
When I registered to become a foster carer, I knew that each placement would be different and each one would require different support. Since I started fostering a decade ago, there have been a variety of placements, including three sets of sibling placements, respite placements and baby placements who had additional needs.
Many people ask Ian and I if fostering is the right career choice and we can honestly say this is the best career for us, we love it and have enjoyed every minute of it. We both love children and want to make any child that stays with us feel like they have had a happy childhood. This career allows us to make a difference every day in a child’s life.
It is also great that we can be at home and focus on our children and homelife. Our birth children have also benefitted from us being around more. They did struggle in some ways as they were growing up but now that they are older, it does not affect them so much.
We have been fostering for many years and have enjoyed it so much, we have only ever been with Capstone Foster Care and we love them! They have been so supportive, especially our previous social worker Eileen. Although Eileen is not our social worker anymore, our new social worker, Sue, is great too and we really appreciate all her support.
We have had such a great fostering experience with Capstone Foster Care and would recommend fostering as a career to anyone who is considering taking the next step.
So, what are you waiting for? Contact the Capstone team today!
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
