120 new foster parents recruited

Child, Youth and Family has taken on 120 new foster parents from its first-ever national recruitment campaign launched in November last year.

The campaign used a series of print and radio ads, posters, leaflets, a video, media interviews and the internet to attract new foster parents.

Another 60 applicants were being assessed and if the majority of them are approved, almost 200 new much-needed foster parents would have joined the department by the end of the year, programme manager care Wendy Penhearow said in a statement.

The priority now was to welcome the new foster parents, roll out induction training and focus even more highly on the retention of existing foster parents.

No decision had been made whether the campaign would be repeated, Ms Penhearow said.

- NZPA