Become a foster carer in West Yorkshire: Read Andrea’s inspiring story of supporting a teenager in care

Andrea joined Team Fostering thinking that she wanted to be able to make a difference to people who needed help – especially children and young people.

As a single parent to a grown-up daughter, Andrea wondered if she’d be able to manage fostering on her own; and then she was given the opportunity to provide a home for a young adult from the Ukraine.

After a positive experience over three months, Andrea reconsidered fostering.

Hundreds of teenagers enter the care system every year

Andrea says: “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle fostering as a single carer.

“And to be honest, at first, I was looking into fostering younger children, because the stories I’d heard about teenagers in foster care had made me unsure about supporting them.

“I’d heard that they could steal from you, could run away without warning - but my actual experience has been totally different.”

Now Team Fostering, which supported Andrea, is hoping that her story will inspire people in West Yorkshire to step forward to discover more about being a foster carer.

The perception of fostering is often of small children and toddlers.

The reality is that hundreds of teenagers enter the care system every year - too young to support themselves, but old enough to be figuring out their identities, testing boundaries and pushing limits.

It’s not easy to foster a teenager, but Andrea challenged herself to try, and was matched with J, a girl in her mid-teens.

Says Andrea: “She’s a typical teenager, sometimes stroppy, but up until now she hadn’t been told no.

Your goal is to be diplomatic with teenagers

“She didn’t have any routines in place. Her attendance at school was poor, and she was just a few months away from her exams.”

With Andrea’s guidance, J was encouraged to study hard.

Says Andrea: “I said to her, ‘only you can do the work you need to pass your exams, but you’ll need to work your socks off’.”

Andrea was absolutely delighted when J did exactly that and went on to achieve the grades she needed for her career plan of working with children.

Says Andrea: “Your goal is to be diplomatic with teenagers; treat them like an adult but be smart about it and encourage them to make the right choices. J actually said, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have done this’.”

You can’t take anything for granted

Andrea has supported J to enjoy opportunities that she never had the chance to experience.

The teenager had never been to a farm; had never seen a sheep in real life; had never been on holiday.

Says Andrea: “You can’t take anything for granted when you’re a foster carer.

“You need to be open-minded because it’s not the young person’s fault they’re in care.”

Andrea has received all the support she needed from Team Fostering.

She says: “The support has been outstanding. I can ring at any time and speak to someone familiar for advice. Even if it’s something they need to go and find out more about, you always get a response straight away.

How to find out more about becoming a foster carer

“When I was looking for an independent agency to work with, I couldn’t fault the recommendations for Team Fostering.”

If you think that fostering could be the right step for you in 2024, you can join one of Team Fostering’s recruitment events in January.

Choose between in-person drop-in sessions at the Team Fostering offices, meet the team in the community, or join one of the online events.

To find out more, go to the Team Fostering website