Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Foster carer case study : Anne and Dave Charnley

Stockton Council foster carers, Anne and Dave Charnley, have received an award as winners of the 'personal and community achievement' category in the Pride of Billingham Awards 2011. It honoured the work they have done as foster carers over the last 30 years.

In the last 30 years Anne and Dave have devoted their lives to caring for local youngsters as foster carers for Stockton Borough Council. In this time they have looked after 50 babies, children and teenagers, many with challenging conditions and from difficult backgrounds.

The last few years they have been focusing on looking after drug dependent babies and preparing them to move onto adopters and the chance for a better life with a loving family.

Drug dependent babies need a lot more care and attention and they can suffer from poor sleep, agitation and difficulty feeding because of serious drug use by their mother during pregnancy.

Without people like Anne and Dave these children wouldn't be able to experience all the opportunities that they do now and Anne and Dave always make sure that they treat the children the same as if they were their own child.

Over the 30 years the couple have fostered many children and young people and provide them with stability and guidance and even take them on family holidays which is something that the looked after children might not have been able to experience if it wasn't for Anne and Dave.

The couple really made a difference to one girl's life. She was placed with the Charnley's when she was seven and had been diagnosed with failure to thrive. However, it turned out that the girl had Microcephaly, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and Anne and Dave cared for her until she was 23 years old.

It is Anne and Dave's work in the community that allows looked after children to stay in the local community and attend the same school which means that they avoid too many disruptions in their already difficult lives.

The couple's passion about fostering and making a difference shines through and they also get involved in spreading the word about the benefits of fostering in the local community and have even encouraged friends to consider fostering.

Anne and Dave would like to carry on fostering for as long as they can and are motivated by the satisfaction of seeing poorly babies turn a corner and really enjoy seeing them come along.