Hello & Welcome!

It all begins with an idea. 2023 and into 2024 was a period of time where I had lost some of my sense of identity. I had exited my role as Founder and MD of a hospitality group, due to prioritising the needs of a young person my husband and I were fostering. Mix in a growing passion for being involved in fostering services and fostering panels, I could see that children’s services across the UK was on a downwards spiral of negativity! I needed a new challenge, but one that makes a difference.

I could see some fostering services doing an excellent job! Their fostering household retention being excellent, even during a period of increasing risks of allegations and investigations. But, then there were other providers (many of them!!) doing an awful job. What is going wrong I kept thinking to myself. Add to the mix, lots of gaps for adequate support, not just for children in care, but for vulnerable children and young people, along with fostering families, teachers, social workers. The whole sector in an immense struggle to keep people motivated and be able to provide support and services so desperately needed. With a growing number of vulnerable children, and a decreasing number of people willing or able to support these young people, I made a decision that I wanted to be part of a positive change. Negativity breeds negativity - right? Well lets start with some positivity, which I sincerely hope will encourage some positive change, at least here in the South West of England where we are based.

I decided I wanted to create an organisation, where it wasn't just about fostering, or about profit. I wanted an organisation where vulnerable children and young people are the end beneficiary, but to get there I just knew that it meant everyone within the organisation would need excellent support which could only come from a place of empathy. And here we are: Empathic Professionals Investing in Children. We are The EPIC Family CIC, a not for profit organisation that cannot be sold to investors for financially motivated reasons.

Welcome, be a part of our journey.

Dan Boxall-Simpson - Founder & CEO.