The Foster Carers Foundation  ·  tfcf.network

No foster carer
should ever stand
alone.

Built by foster carers, for foster carers. Protection, professional recognition, and solidarity for the people who protect children.

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83,630 Children in care
47,000 Foster carers — declining
Cheaper than residential
"Building a safer, stronger future
for foster care."

The TFCF Mission

"I have watched good people destroyed by a system that moves faster than it thinks. Treated as guilty before a single fact was established. Families broken. Careers ended. That has to stop."

Lawson Goodall  ·  Founder, TFCF  ·  19 years fostering
Why TFCF exists
19 yrs
Founded from lived experience — not a policy paper
£3.1bn
Spent annually on residential care — 8× more expensive than foster care
0
Organisations currently providing what TFCF will build
£500m+
Potential annual government saving if 10% more carers are retained
What We Do

Four pillars. One purpose.

TFCF is not a union. It is not a government body. It is a movement — operational, practical, and built from the inside by people who have lived every part of this.

01
Allegation First Response

A 24-hour containment and assessment protocol that slows the system down, protects the carer's dignity and confidentiality, and ensures no family is treated as guilty before a single fact is established. Plain-clothes police liaison. A confidentiality ring. Three clearly defined outcomes.

02
AI Child Wellbeing Monitoring

Weekly AI-assisted check-ins build a longitudinal picture of every child's wellbeing. Pattern recognition spots what humans miss — including correlations between contact visits and sudden behavioural change. Safeguards the child. Protects the carer. Exists nowhere else in foster care.

03
Professional Training

A training framework that rebuilds foster carer professional identity from the ground up — and re-educates social workers to engage with carers as the skilled professionals they are. Built by carers. Informed by care-experienced young adults who have lived the other side of it.

04
National Community & Solidarity

A 24/7 peer support network, emergency solidarity fund, and long-term vision for respite hubs — ensuring no foster carer ever faces isolation, burnout, or crisis alone. Plus a Professional Recognition Card giving carers the same standing as nurses, police, and fire.

The Plan

Five phases.
A lasting legacy.

Phase 1 Year 1–2
Foundation

24/7 support line. Allegation first response protocol. AI child wellbeing monitoring (beta). Professional identity training. Regional ambassadors recruited.

Phase 2 Year 2–3
Solidarity

Emergency solidarity fund launched. TFCF Professional Recognition Card. National advocacy for allegation confidentiality legislation. Social worker re-education piloted.

Phase 3 Year 3–5
Recovery

First TFCF respite cabin and holiday hub. Carer-to-carer mentoring. Mental health and wellbeing programme. AI monitoring rolled out nationally.

Phase 4 Year 5+
National Voice

Campaign for professional status of foster carers. Statutory allegation confidentiality. TFCF becomes the primary national voice for foster carers in the UK.

Phase 5 The Legacy
Prevention & Education

Working upstream — school-based respect and responsibility programmes, early parenting support, community education. Reducing the number of children who need foster care in the first place.

Get Involved

Be part of
what comes next.

TFCF is in its founding stage. We are building our community now — foster carers, care-experienced adults, professionals, and supporters who believe the system can be better.

Your details are kept private and will only be used to keep you informed about TFCF's launch and development. We will never share your information.