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Social workers are experiencing unprecedented levels of racism, while foster carers whose ethnicity differs from the children they care for have been accosted in the street, a fostering leader has said as he called on the government to take action.
Harvey Gallagher, the chief executive of the Nationwide Association of Fostering Providers (NAFP), said there was growing concern about the “impact of racism, extremism and far-right sentiment” on foster children, carers and social workers.
“In recent months, fostering services have reported increasing challenges, including incidents of racial hate directed towards foster carers from diverse ethnicities and the children in their care,” he said in a public statement sent to the government this week.
He said that, after hearing anecdotal reports of young people from BAME backgrounds feeling unsafe and foster carers being accosted in the street, NAFP organised a meeting of 35 fostering agencies across England to discuss the issue.
“I was really shocked at what I heard. The stuff they were describing was so widespread, right across the country,” he said.
“It was things like young people in foster care feeling like they couldn’t leave the house because they thought it would be unsafe, because of how they would be perceived. And this is children of a wide range of ages and backgrounds. It’s so toxic.”
In one reported incident, a white foster carer walking down the street with a child from an ethnic minority background was questioned about why they were together, causing both of them distress.
Gallagher also said African-Caribbean and Asian social workers reported this being the “most racist environment they’ve worked in” and were fearful about travelling to certain areas.
“Social workers are certainly going into areas where they don’t feel safe and experiencing upsetting comments. You can understand their reluctance, and how they might want to get in and out as quickly as possible, but they need to be able to do their job properly,” he said.
He has written to the children’s minister, Josh MacAlister, warning that the foster care system was being undermined by “the normalisation of discriminatory views”, and calling for “clear leadership and guidance” on how the sector should respond.
“I’d like to see government specifically talk about the difference in how people are behaving which is making children feel unsafe. Everybody has been silent on it,” he said.
He said that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and those from ethnic minority backgrounds were “particularly vulnerable to racism and exclusion” in the current climate.
Gallagher added that “by creating a hostile environment for young people to live in, we’re creating a vacuum in which they might get drawn to” grooming and radicalisation.
His warning echoes similar concerns in the charity sector, where leaders have reported growing racial abuse, intimidation and threats of violence towards staff amid toxic rhetoric around immigration and race, with many bringing in extensive security measures.
A coalition of more than 150 charities including Age UK, Citizens Advice and the Muslim Council of Britain wrote to the prime minister urging him to challenge the “cynical” targeting of civil society organisations by far-right politicians and activists.
A department for education spokesperson said: “Fostering shows Britain at its best, with families opening their hearts and homes to look after some of the most vulnerable children.
“It’s really troubling to hear some foster carers are facing this kind of abuse and we’re committed to making sure all carers get the support and guidance they need, including through the delivery of our regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs.
“We’re already investing more money to expand fostering and doubling council funding for early intervention to £500m to keep children in safe and loving homes wherever possible – we will be sharing further plans to improve the system soon.”
