Foster Care Associates (FCA), the UK’s largest Independent Fostering Agency (IFA), has launched a ‘Fostering with Pride’ initiative to promote fostering within the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) community.

In August 2011, FCA attended Brighton Pride to inform members of the LGB community about fostering and how to become a foster carer. FCA’s attendance at the event coincides with the publication of the new ‘Fostering with Pride’ leaflet, which focuses on encouraging LGB individuals and couples to foster with FCA.

FCA’s goal is to promote further LGB carer recruitment and communicate the message that sexual orientation is not a barrier to foster.

As an inclusive organisation, FCA ranked in the list of 2011 Stonewall Top Employers, which acknowledges the 100 most gay-friendly organisations in the UK. FCA is committed to working with Stonewall and various other LGB advocacy groups to promote diversity within the workplace and LGB foster carer recruitment initiatives.

Stuart Bray, Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator at FCA said: “I am tremendously proud of the work that FCA has undertaken to make it clear to the LGB communities that we encourage them to apply to become foster carers for the agency. We already have many wonderful LGB carers – singles and couples – and we are looking for more who have the ability to nurture a child and make them feel safe and part of a family.”

Stuart Bray added: “FCA has always been committed to Equality and Diversity. Taking the step to produce a leaflet targeting the LGB communities (‘Fostering with Pride’) is testament to the commitment of the company to champion the rights of LGB carers, young people and staff.”

The ‘Fostering with Pride’ leaflet was created to give prospective LGB carers an insight into what to expect when fostering with FCA. It was written to appeal to the LGB community who may be unsure about fostering due to prejudice or stigma. The leaflet highlights the fact that FCA is committed to recruiting foster carers from all strands of diversity.

The LGB campaign forms part of FCA’s ongoing carer recruitment initiative as the agency bids to address the shortfall of 10,000 foster carers in the UK.