Jane is married to Bill and they have two grown up sons. They live in Walsall.
“Having two children of our own, our house was always full of kids – they were always welcome to hang around here and I preferred it. One day our youngest son came home with a friend who ended up staying for five years. He said he was happier with us. The arrangement was formalised and in return I found the vocation I’d been looking for. I realised that fostering was what I wanted to do and I made enquiries to two agencies. Compass responded quickly and professionally. By the time the other agency actually got in touch, I’d already seen a Social Worker and accepted a place on Compass’s ‘Skills to Foster’ course.
“If anyone is hesitating about fostering I would say to them – ‘do it’. You can’t compare anything with thinking that you’ve helped to save a youngster; a kid with nowhere to run to and low self-esteem. There’s nothing like seeing the change over time. It might sound like a cliché, but it’s true that you really will make a difference by bringing kindness into their lives.”
“We are great believers in routine and have had children come to us for respite breaks as well as long term care. The shortest placement has been for nine months, while our 16 year old foster son has been with us for over three years. We quickly found that we were suited to having teenage boys as they fit in well with our own family’s dynamics. Our kids have been a massive help in being such good role models and enjoying activities together such as football.”