Leanne's foster child was taken away following an unfounded allegation by the birth parent. She came to @FCWUnion for advice. Here's what happened, in her own words...

Spoiler alert: happy ending


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#FosterCare #Fostering #Foster #fosterparent #Rights4FosterCarers

"I felt so powerless. The child had been with us for 6 months – they were young and we had worked so hard to develop their trust and had a really strong bond."

"Without warning, and before any investigation was done, we were given 30 minutes by the council to pack the child’s bag and hand them over to another carer. We had no idea when or if we would see our foster child again."

"We didn’t even know why it was happening or what we were being accused of. It was extremely traumatic.

But my union rep was so caring and supportive. She was able to offer advice and reassurance even through the weekend."

"She helped me express my concern for the child and set out expectations that the situation be resolved quickly.

I suddenly didn’t feel so powerless anymore.

Giving our side of the story early in the process helped to resolve things quickly."

"The following day the allegation was deemed unfounded and the child returned to my care.

Without the support and advice of the union, the outcome would have been very different."

"I’ve never known a job as precarious as fostering. There's no way I would continue fostering without being part of the union."

Every day we support #fostercare workers like Leanne & campaign for #Rights4FosterCarers.

Learn more, follow @FCWUnion

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