A video from the launch of the Mockingbird fostering initiative in Cornwall.
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00:00I'm here at the Eden Project to celebrate the launch of Mockingbird for Cornwall Council.
00:06Mockingbird is about a new initiative where parents who are foster carers come together
00:14and work together and have support from each other so it's a really important piece of
00:20peer support for those who are fostering because truthfully being a parent is a challenge,
00:26being a foster parent can be as well as a joy it can be a really difficult thing to do
00:33so what Mockingbird does is it gets a group of foster carers together with a pair of experienced
00:41foster carers as it were as the lead and makes it much more of a family-orientated
00:47experience for our young people than it was before. The whole process is designed to mimic
00:55an extended family which is something that children in care don't experience normally
01:01and being a foster carer, being a child in care can be quite isolating and Mockingbird is a way
01:07to overcome some of that. So we'll be meeting up regularly as a family doing days out and we'll
01:16also be meeting up as a group of carers to talk about our experience and see what help we need
01:22and to support each other. This is the launch of the first one in Cornwall but we intend to have
01:27other ones in other parts of Cornwall because this is a fantastic model that really works.
01:33We've been here this morning with young people and their foster carers and if you came in this
01:39and knew nothing about it you would think this was just a great big family party and that's the
01:45important thing. Foster carers are families first and foremost and our young people deserve
01:53the best family experience that they can get. They say that a child comes into care every 15 minutes
01:59and within the last few years the number of foster carers has gone down while the number
02:04of children going into care has gone up. We are absolutely desperate for more foster carers
02:09and if you are considering being a foster carer we'd encourage you to contact Fostering
02:14South West. They've got all their social media and their website where you can find out more and
02:19all I say is you might not be sure but just get in contact with them anyway, have discussions,
02:24there's no kind of expectation, they're welcome to talk things through with you.
02:29I've had seven children now, I've had some go through to adoption, some go through to
02:36back to their families and it is such a wonderful experience seeing each child grow in a different
02:43way from the day that they arrive with you to the day that they leave. You'll be surprised how
02:51rewarding it is and how easy it is, it's a long process but you know you can do it
02:58whether you're single, whether you're young, old and married, you can both do it and do it.