Mr. David Taylor:

The Senator asked about people having the ability. Anyone who watched the "Late Late Show" episode on fostering would be assessing whether they could have been the person who made the difference to that child's life. That is where the image of fostering is terribly important. People can assess, looking the outcomes and the children involved, whether they could imagine themselves in that role. That partially addresses the negative connotation of people only being in it for the money. That is why I said that anything members can do to highlight the importance and the societal benefits of fostering is a material contribution to building capacity. The Senator asked about the length of the assessment.

I suggested in my remarks that it is a big decision. It is actually quite complex. You are surrendering quite a lot. You need time to transition that. What is actually going on in that assessment period is a conversation between a professional - a qualified social worker who has experience of fostering - and the person who is intending to foster. There is a mutual informing process going on there. At any time during that process, as I have suggested, people can part and be comfortable with the decision they have taken.