Many more foster carers are required. The health boards undertake local initiatives on an on-going basis to recruit foster carers. In 2002 over 300 new foster carers were recruited nationally. However, more work needs to be done to attract people to the area of foster care. In view of this, the standards emphasise the importance of recruitment strategies. Also highlighted is the importance of health boards responding promptly to fostering enquiries. Health boards are also encouraged, as mentioned previously, to undertake assessments of foster carers within a certain time limit. These measures will go a long way to ensuring that foster care applicants are not lost due to time delays in assessments or failure to respond promptly at the initial querying stage.