Children and Young People
with Independent Foster Care Services
- The Fostering Network states Foster Carers need better financial recognition
- Since 1997 the total number of children in Wales looked after by foster carers and in residential care increased by 50%.
- There is a shortage of nearly 750 Foster Carers in Wales alone. In March 2009, there were 4705 looked after children and young people in Wales and 77% of these lived with Foster Carers.
Find a section
- Introduction to Foster Care
- Questions & Answers
- Short statement of purpose
- Useful contacts
- Games links
- Complaints
- E-mail links
- Advice on Internet Security
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IFCS quick finder
Find important pages on the Independent Foster Care Services website here!
How to find us
IFCS are based in Cardiff, South Wales, if you need directions just go to our directions page.
Complaints
You can make a complaint by phone at any time (02920 837320), or by fax (02920 837321). This website allows complaints to be made directly to anyone within IFCS, the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), and the Children's Commissioner for Wales.
Making a complaint
You can make a written complaint to IFCS using a Complaints Form.
Either download the pdf, print it out and send it in the stamped addressed envelope provided in your pack to: Independent Foster Care Services, Solva House, Springmeadow Business Park, Wentloog, Cardiff CF3 2ES.
View IFCS complaints form (44Kb pdf)
or fill in the form on-line and e-mail it.
Fill in on-line IFCS complaints form
Your complaints, concerns and views are very important, and will help us do our job better. We want to hear from you.
You can make a compliant, express your concerns or have your say in a number of different easy ways.
If you wish to contact your Social Worker, or anyone within Independent Foster Care Services (IFCS), you can phone using the information on your Main Contact Card and Personal Contact Card, which are in your welcome pack. Alternatively, you can use the main contact card online.
Show me the main IFCS contact card
To make a complaint use the Complaints Forms in your pack. Stamped addressed envelopes are also in this pack. Or alternatively you can get more Complaints Forms from this page, and either print them out to complete by hand and post,
View IFCS complaints form (44Kb pdf)
or fill them out on the computer and email to the professional or organisation you want to on your set contacts list. Please look at the Internet Services Guide in your pack to see how to do this.
Fill in on-line IFCS complaints form
The three steps to the Complaints Procedure are:
STEP 1
Your Complaints Form will be given to the IFCS Social Worker who, after reading it carefully, will talk to you, make an agreement with you on what should be done, and then do it. If this is impossible your Complaints Form will be passed to Step 2.
If your complaint is about the IFCS Social Worker or Education Support Worker it will automatically go to Step 2.
The first step will take five working days.
STEP 2
Your Complaints Form will be passed to the Service Manager, who will interview you, and others if that is felt OK. The Service Manager will decide on what should be done, and discuss this plan with you. If you do not agree with the Service Manager then your Complaints Form will go to Step 3 of the Complaints Procedure.
If your complaint is about the Service Manager it automatically goes to Step 3.
STEP 3
Your Complaints Form will be sent to the Business Manager of Independent Foster Care Services (IFCS) who, with the chair person of our Foster Panel, will read it carefully, talk to you, read any past action plans that were suggested, possibly talk to others if that was OK, and decide on what should be done.
The Business Manager and the chair person of the Foster Panel will write to you with their decision.
If you are not happy with their decision you can contact the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) or the Children's Commissioner for Wales, by email from your webpage on this website, or by post using the stamped envelopes and addressed labels in this pack, or by phone using the numbers written on your Main Contact Card.
Show me the main IFCS contact card
This third step will take five working days.
Complaints against the Business Manager
All complaints against the Business Manager are investigated by the chair person of the Foster Panel.
You can write out your complaint on one of the Complaints Forms in your welcome pack, and post it to the Independent Fostering Consultant using the stamped envelopes and addressed labels also in this pack.
Alternatively, you can email a Complaints Form straight to our Independent Foster Care Consultant from this web page.
Fill in on-line IFCS complaints form
Our Independent Fostering Consultant will carefully read your complaint, talk to you, talk to others if OK, agree with you on what should be done and then do it. Finally, she will write a report on your complaint and what was done to the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW).
Show me the IFCS complaints procedure
We respect the information you give us
We will learn to do our jobs better by whatever you say to us. We value what you say and listen extremely carefully.
Partly, because your views are so valuable, we write down a lot of what you say and do and keep all this information on a file. This file will be given to your Social Worker when you leave foster care with us.
Information on this file may also be given to other professionals who are directly involved in looking after you. We do not keep secrets, and will share information on the file if it is going to help a professional give you a better service or will help keep you safe. You can also see any information we record on your file at any time.
We will not give out information on your file to anyone who asks, but will respect this information as very valuable to helping you get the very good care you have a right to.
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