Councils up and down the UK are gearing up for National Fostering Fortnight due to be launched by TV presenter Lorraine Kelly next month.

The GMTV presenter, who recently led a successful BBC campaign to recruit more adoptive parents, will be launching the two-week campaign with Tracey Alexander, a foster carer who has been voted a mum in a million in a national competition.

The appeal is being co-ordinated by the National Foster Care Association and will aim to address the national shortage of foster carers facing local authorities across the UK.

Foster carers look after children so that families have a chance to sort out their problems. These can range from short-term illness to depression or drug or alcohol abuse.

But some children may have been abused or neglected and may never return home, but instead be fostered until they can be found an adoptive family.

Anyone can foster - as long as they have the energy and caring and mature attitude to look after children separated from their own families.

There are few age limits. Single people are needed, as well as cohabiting and married couples and it doesn't matter if you are in or out of paid work, or if you rent or own your own home.

Many local authorities are particularly short of foster families from ethnic minorities.

There are many different types of fostering.

Some carers look after babies and toddlers but others care for school-age children, groups of brothers and sisters, young people remanded by the courts, disabled children and young people, teenage mothers and their babies, and children preparing to move to an adoptive family.

Some fostering is short-term, lasting just weeks or a few months. But other children remain in foster care for years, keeping in contact with their own families. This is long term fostering.

Other carers offer 'short breaks' or 'shared care' so that families who have a disabled child can have a break - and the child can benefit from new friends and new experiences.

All foster carers receive a fostering allowance to cover the costs of looking after a child. Each council sets its own level and the amount varies according to the age of the child.

Some councils also pay extra money to foster carers who look after children with particularly challenging needs, and for carers who have developed particular skills and expertise.

Fostering is hard work and can be very challenging, but it can also be very rewarding. Foster families can help confused and unhappy children through difficult periods in their lives - helping them to feel more confident and positive about the future.

Carers can have the satisfaction of helping a family get back on its feet or of preparing a young person for independent adult life.

In England there were 58,100 children and young people were in care last year and 38,000 - 65 per cent - were fostered. Two thirds of these children returned home within six months.

In Scotland there were just over 6,000 children and young people in care last year. Just over half were fostered. Meanwhile in Wales about 3,300 children and young people were in care and more than three-quarters were fostered.

Examples of the kinds of children in foster care

Case 1

Three sisters, aged two, five and seven, have been sexually abused by a member of their family.

They need foster carers to look after them until the person who harmed them has left the family home and their parents have learnt how to make it a safe place.

Case 2

A 15-year-old girl has been kicked out of home for getting pregnant. She needs foster carers who will understand how scared and rejected she is feeling, and who will help her regain her self-confidence and prepare for the birth of her baby.

Case 3

Two brothers with disabilities need someone to look after them at weekends to give their dad a break. They need someone who will understand their different disabilities and who speaks their language.

Case 4

An 11-year-old who is HIV positive needs someone to care for him, as his own mother is very ill. He needs foster carers who understand the condition and are sympathetic to his worries and concerns, and who share his religion and cultural background.

Case 5

A 13-year-old girl started drinking and taking drugs after her dad died and has stopped going to school. Her mum is finding it hard to cope but the girl wants to see her mum after school everyday. She needs foster carers who will help her to sort out her problems and encourage her to go back to school.

If you are interested in fostering you should approach your local council or a fostering agency.

Details of the application process can be found under How to Foster on Adoption-net.