A foster parent who was removed from the carer’s register by her local Gateshead Council (U.K.) after a Muslim girl in her care converted to Christianity has been reinstated.
The decision to remove her from the register and revoke her foster parenting status led to a storm of controversy in the north-east of England.
The foster parent had looked after children for over a decade and had an unblemished record but was held responsible for failing to “protect and preserve” a teenage girls Muslim faith when she was baptized, even though the girl was over sixteen years of age at the time and had made up her own mind to officially change her religion.
However, when the case was reported in a local newspaper, the Daily Mail, a swell of public support rose for the carer because it was felt the Gateshead council had treated her unfairly and not taken into account that the teenage girl was old enough to make up her own mind.
The foster parent reported that: “In addition to losing the Muslim teenager, another girl I was looking after was taken back into care. And I lost the farmhouse I rented to look after vulnerable teenagers.”
She added: “Despite my experiences, I still hope to foster again in the future. I simply enjoy helping young people.”
Although the carer is a devout Christian in her 50’s, she said that she had never pressured the girl to convert and the council was made aware that she had begun attending a Christian church, but her foster manager became “incandescent with rage” when she was baptized.
The teenager in question was sent to the foster parent when she was threatened with an arranged marriage and faced violence from her family.
The decision to strike the carer from the foster parent’s register was overturned by a Leeds Court last week. The Children’s Commissioner for England, Maggie Atkinson, said:
“The decision to remove a carer would only be made if it were in the best interests of the children. I am sorry it had such an effect. I hope that the ruling and Gateshead’s move to reassess the situation will go some way to reversing this.”
(Image is of Dr. Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner of England).