22. April 2026
Most fostering providers are still asking the wrong question.
They’re asking:
“How do we improve our marketing?”
But in 2026, the real question is:
“Can anyone actually FIND us?”
Because the truth is this:
Potential foster carers are no longer just searching on Google.
They are asking AI.
They are scrolling social.
They are consuming answers — not browsing websites.
And if your service isn’t structured for that reality…
you are effectively invisible.
This is exactly why I developed the F.O.U.N.D Framework™:
F – Findable
Can you be accessed and surfaced by AI tools and modern search?
O – Organisation
Is your identity clear, consistent, and recognisable?
U – Useful Content
Are you answering real questions that potential carers are actually asking?
N – Noticed
Do you exist beyond your website — across channels where people already are?
D – Data & Structure
Is your content built in a way that machines (and humans) can interpret easily?
Here’s the uncomfortable reality:
Most Local Authorities, IFAs, and even Regional Care Cooperatives
are not F.O.U.N.D.
Websites built for compliance, not conversion
Content written for internal stakeholders, not applicants
Social media used sporadically, not strategically
Data structured for reporting, not discovery
And this has a direct consequence:
👉 Fewer enquiries
👉 Lower quality enquiries
👉 Higher drop-off before first contact
If we are serious about increasing foster carer numbers,
we cannot just “do more marketing.”
We must fundamentally rethink how we are discovered.
The providers who get this right will:
✔ Be surfaced by AI when people ask about fostering
✔ Build trust before the first conversation
✔ Generate consistent, high-quality enquiries
✔ Reduce reliance on expensive paid campaigns
The ones who don’t?
They will continue to compete harder…
for a shrinking pool of visible opportunities.
This isn’t a future problem.
It’s happening now.
If you’re leading fostering recruitment, ask yourself:
Are you truly F.O.U.N.D — or just hoping to be?