A Gloucestershire woman was recently featured in the Gloucestershire Echo as part of a series about the rewards of being a foster carer.

Mrs Hillier has looked after 27 children in the past nine years. "I've looked after all ages, from babies to teenagers," she said.

"When I was a short-term foster carer, sometimes children would only stay for two weeks and others up to a year.

"I've looked after four babies. One was eight weeks when I started looking after her and she stayed for a year.

It was heartbreaking to see her go but I've got some nice memories. I hope I've made a difference to the lives of the children I've looked after.

"You have to be sensitive about what's happened to them in the past. Before I had these two, they were in separate homes. For 10 months, they were split up. I couldn't imagine my life being like that."

Life for a foster parent has improved considerably since the payment scheme came into being in October 2000. "You were never given a wage before, just payment for things you needed and equipment. Now I can give the children more and we've had a family holiday and been to Butlin's.

"Foster caring is a job worth doing but you need to have a lot of patience, a sense of humour and understanding."

If you think that you could become a foster carer, but would like more information, have a look at our 'How to Foster' section which can be found from the home page.

There are many different fostering options such as weekend only, long term and respite plus many other schemes, all which offer allowances etc.

Alternatively you can contact us directly.