Carers, foster children, and social workers face 'unprecedented racism'

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.

- Jessica Murray

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 black, Asian and minority ethnic (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.