London Borough pledges PCs for foster kids

Council spends some cash on the kids for a change...

The London Borough of Hillingdon is to hand out PCs to all of its foster homes with children over the age of eight in their care. Up to 300 foster homes inside and outside of the Borough will receive a PC to enable children to email council officials and keep in regular and timely contact. The Borough also hopes to honour its responsibility to ensure the children are not technologically disadvantaged. Although the Borough is currently costing new computers, some of the PCs have been previously used by council offices. The hope is that within nine months all foster children within the Borough will have a PC in their home. Once installed, the children can complete the council's welfare questionnaire using the Look After Children software at home. Findings show that better responses can be gleaned from the children using PCs compared with more traditional methods. The scheme will be funded by the council's budget and the Department of Health.