AN organisation which provides specialist foster placements for children and young people in the North-East has received a funding boost.

Team Fostering North East, a newly established not-for-profit organisation, has secured funding to expand, thanks to the Community Loan Fund for the North East (CLFNE), a regional partnership managed by Business in the Community.

Operating throughout the region from North Yorkshire to the Scottish borders, Team Fostering, with headquarters in Howdon, North Tyneside, has already placed 18 children in its first five months of operation.

The loan finance will help fund additional assistance for carers and children in the form of educational support, play therapy and specialist child psychology.

It is also hoped that the additional funding will speed up expansion, as the team pushes ahead with plans to open an office in the Stockton/Middlesborough area.

Director Peter Richardson said the Community Loan Fund has provided working capital of up to £80,000 to carry out the work.

Team Fostering is keen to attract new carers with established skills in residential childcare, community youth work and those who have worked with disabled youngsters.

For more information, contact 0191-262 8855, or email infohing, including the kitchen sink