Up to four children are taken into care each week in Brighton and Hove.
Some will later be adopted. Some will be returned to their family homes.
But social workers will try to house the vast majority with foster carers in the city.
In Brighton and Hove many of them will come from homes affected by drugs and alcohol abuse.
Others will have been neglected or abused or come from a home that suffers from domestic abuse.
Some will have parents with learning disabilities who cannot care for the child or simply need a break.
Nisha Patel, from Portslade, has worked as a foster carer for six years.
She currently cares for two children, a nine-month-old baby and a 16-month-old.
Like most foster carers, Nisha said the job is rewarding but the hardest thing is letting go of the children when they move on.
She said: “Every child leaves with a piece of my heart. It is almost like letting go of your own child. It is really difficult.
"How I have always viewed it is I am a holding ground for children when they go back to their birth family or go to adoption.
“But I still do get very upset when they leave.”
The 31-year-old is single but checked with her now 14-year-old birth daughter before she embarked on fostering.
She said: “My mum was a foster carer. She worked for Barnados.
“I used to do respite care for some of her children. I decided to do it full time.
“I discussed it with Jasmine and she felt she would like to do it.
“We lived with my mum when she was younger so she had a really good knowledge of it.”
Although she has fostered older children, Nisha said caring for babies and young children fits better with her family.
Pressure on the system
It is Brighton and Hove policy that birth children should be two years older than any foster child or considerably older.
There are 123 sets of foster carers in the city.
East Sussex County Council currently has 620 children in care. A total of 523 are in foster families.
The county has 267 in-house foster families.
In West Sussex about 400 children are currently in care and the county council said it has almost 330 foster carers.
Across the UK a child comes into care and needs a foster family every 22 minutes across the UK.
The Fostering Network said the alarming figure highlights the growing pressure on the care system across the country.
More than 24,000 children were brought into care in 2011 – a 17% increase from 2008.
The network said latest figures show a record number of applications for care orders in England in recent months suggesting the pressure on foster care will continue unless more people come forward.
Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, said: “More than 24,000 children who came into care last year were fostered. That means a foster home has to be found every 22 minutes.
“This figure highlights the overwhelming need for more people to come forward to foster. With more foster families, children in care will have a better chance of finding the stability and security they need to go on and achieve their potential.”
Sandra Copping, chairwoman of the Brighton and Hove Foster Care Association, currently cares for two children.
She said while fostering is challenging, it is “the best job in the world”.
Last week Mrs Copping, pictured below, saw a baby she was caring for adopted.
She said: “It is always hard to hand over a baby but when they are going to a lovely couple who are desperate for a baby it is very rewarding.
"It is like winning the lottery for them.”
She said neglect cases were increasing in the city and urged people to consider fostering.
She said: “People have got nothing to lose by going to open days but everything to gain.
“If they start the process and they find they don’t like it they can always get off.
“But when you get to the end, the rewards are amazing.
“I can’t wait to get them from school and see their happy faces.
“Seeing their smiling faces is the biggest reward.
“It is the best job in the world. They change my life as much as I change theirs.”
Support network
Mrs Copping said the association provides support for fellow carers and that people do not feel isolated in the job.
Nisha agreed. She said although she is a single parent the support foster carers get means she does not ever feel lonely.
Every carer is allocated a social worker who helps with both practical and emotional advice.
She said: “You are definitely not isolated as a foster carer. When you start you also get a buddy who helps you.
“People think working at home can be pretty lonely but (the support network) makes it really social.”
Clare Spencer, head of fostering recruiting at Brighton and Hove, said they do need more carers and are actively recruiting She said: “It is fair to say we do have quite a shortage and need people to come forward.
“We do have children from all ethnic backgrounds and would try to match them with the right ethnic background where possible.
“The city does not have that many foster carers from different ethnic minority backgrounds. We would like more. We really try to match the right child to the carer."
Although Nisha admits the role is a challenging one and she may have to be ready to welcome a child in the middle of the night if they have been removed in an emergency. But adds the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Nisha said: “It is lovely seeing the children grow and change and being little people when they leave. It is really rewarding.
“They leave a different person. You make that kind of difference.”
Information
Brighton and Hove City Council’s fostering team has an information event on Tuesday, May 15 at Hove Town Hall from 7pm to 8.30pm.
A fostering roadshow will also be held at Asda Hollingbury on May 23 from 10am- 2pm.
Councillor Sue Shanks, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said they welcome interest from people of all sections of the community.
West Sussex County Council is holding a drop in session at Crawley Library in Southgate Avenue on May 19 between 10am and 4pm.
A second session takes place at Chichester Library in Tower Street on May 22 between 10am and 4pm.
For more information visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/fostering or call 01403 229333.
For information about fostering in East Sussex call 01323 747407 or visit www.eastsussex.gov.uk
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