Why foster for us?
Fostering is rewarding but can also be demanding. It is harder if your agency does not provide you with the correct level of support and if you do not feel you can trust them. We receive consistent excellent feedback from our foster carers who we work in partnership with.
What you can expect:
- To receive a minimum of a weekly phone call and a monthly supervision.
- Support groups every 6 weeks.
- 24 hour staffed phone line so there is always someone to talk to if you need help.
- Regular training, which is delivered on-line and face to face a wide selection of courses designed to meet their needs as foster carers.
- Carefully matched young people and support when it is needed.
- A Family Support Worker upon approval. Another foster carer like you who is experienced and can provide you with support.
- Access to Fostering Network advice lines and independent support if an allegation occurs.
- You become part of our fostering family and we have events every school holiday and opportunities for you to meet other foster carers and children.
Thinking about fostering?
What do I need to foster ?
Foster carers come from all backgrounds. You don’t need any particular qualification and some of our carers have not been parents themselves. We are looking for people with big hearts who are resilient. People with a good sense of humour who can provide young people who have not had the best start in life with loving, stable homes. A safe place where young people feel cared about and where they are part of the family. It does not matter if you are fostering on your own or with someone else. You can also foster in rented accommodation or local authority housing as long as we have agreement.
You will need:
- A spare room. This is essential and it is not considered a spare room if two of your children are sharing.
- If you are fostering with a partner, you need two years of living together.
- The time to give a young person.
How do I become a foster carer?
Foster carers are recruited from a variety of backgrounds to ensure the ability to meet the needs of children. All prospective foster carers will be given the opportunity to speak to an experienced foster carer to help them decide if fostering is something that they feel they could do. We welcome carers from all backgrounds and you will be treated with respect throughout the process. We pride ourselves on reflecting diversity and equality issues in all areas.
When you contact us all enquiries will be responded to within 24 working hours. You will be then asked some basic questions and will have the opportunity to ask some.
If this goes well and you want to continue, a home visit will take place within 5 working days.
After the home visit if you and we think you should proceed then you will be asked to complete an application form and references.
- Prospective carers will attend Skills to Foster training and a First AID course before approval.
- We will undertake a variety of checks and references.
- An independent social worker will contact you and write a report about you and your family outlining your experiences and why they think you will make a good foster carer.
Once the Form F is completed you will be invited to panel.
The panel is responsible for your continued registration. They make recommendations about whether you should be approved and are responsible for continuing to undertake your reviews.
Panel members are from the following backgrounds;
- Foster carers.
- Young people who have been in care.
- Education specialists
- Social workers who have extensive experience of working with young people in the care system.
- Counsellors/therapists
The Panel will ask you questions about why you want to foster and will want to find out about you.
The whole process takes 4 to 5 months.
Different kinds of fostering
Local authorities send us referral information for young people they need to find a fostering home for. These are for all different ages of young people and different needs. We place many different types of young people from 0-18 years of age but most of the children who come into foster care are over 5 years old. We have a lot of children who are long term and a lot of siblings because we do not want to see children separated unless they have to be.
The fostering allowance you receive increases depending on the needs of the children and the number of children you have placed. As a foster carer you are self employed and most foster carers do not pay tax on what they receive.
Parent and child fostering
There is huge demand for parent and child fostering. The local authorities use this service in a number of different circumstances. It can be for a young person who finds themselves pregnant and they have no support or it is sometimes an adult mum or dad who the local authority just wants to make sure they are able to manage caring for their child.
Your role is to provide a safe caring home where the mum (usually but is sometimes a dad) can learn to care for their child. You will not look after the baby unless you are babysitting but provide support to the parent in the background. The fee is higher than usual because you will need a little extra training and will need to provide more detailed notes. Your input will be important in deciding if the parent will be able to have the skills to manage raising their child on their own or whether they will need to be adopted. Typically, placements last from 6 to 18 months.