Becoming a Foster Carer

Providing a home for children and young people who cannot, through no fault of their own, live with their birth families can be an extremely rewarding and wonderful experience. It is also likely to be a challenging and demanding one. It is really important that if you are thinking of becoming a foster carer you research and prepare well.

Where do I find out about fostering?

library
Internet
friends and other local people
local council
contacting fostering service providers

There are different types of fostering service providers:

local authority fostering service
voluntary fostering agencies, usually set up by charities
independent fostering agencies, usually set up by individuals as either profit or not-for-profit organisations

Our advice to anyone considering fostering is to:

Consider the seven requirements outlined under the section ‘Thinking of Fostering'.
Think about the type of fostering organisation you want to work with (as outlined above).
Write down all the questions you want answers for. Deciding to foster is an important decision for you, your family and the children and young people you will have in your home, so take the time to think about what you need to know.
Contact at least three different registered fostering service providers in your area (Find a Fostering Service). Check how you are responded to by the people you speak to. This can be an important indicator of how you will be treated as a Foster Carer. Ask any questions you have at this point. There is no such thing as a silly question, so you should feel free to explore any thoughts or issues. Some fostering organisations may ask if they can make an appointment to visit you straight away to undertake what they call an ‘initial visit’. That may feel OK, but don’t be pressurised if you don’t feel ready.
Ask for information packs to be sent so that you can compare and contrast what is provided by the different organisations.
Contact the organisations again with any questions you have. Fostering service providers want to recruit, so should be happy to help you by providing information with no obligation on your part.

What Happens Next?

When you are ready, ask for a visit from the organisations you feel most positive about. An ‘initial visit’ to your home should be arranged to fit in with all your family members. It is much better to have all the family at the meeting so that you can all ask questions and find out more. Fostering will affect everyone and so needs to be a joint decision. The ‘initial visit’ also enables the fostering service providers to make an initial assessment of your situation to ensure that there is every chance of success for you, your family and any child or young person you take on.

Pay attention to the amount of training and support you and all members of your household will receive. This is vital so that you can keep you, your family and the children and young people you work with safe.

Check out the amount of money you will receive for looking after the children or young people. All fostering providers should provide a national minimum amount as a ‘boarding out allowance’ for looking after the children or young people and many will provide a ‘reward’ element for your time and effort. For more information please click here.

Find out about the preparation process. You should be offered preparation training which will provide you with the basic skills and knowledge to enable you to foster. Make sure that you feel the preparation training offered will provide enough time and information to help you feel confident and competent to start fostering.

Most fostering service providers should expect you to have completed the preparation training before starting the assessment process. All potential Foster Carers should go through a thorough and effective assessment process that collates information about family histories, support networks and references, as well as identifying strengths and areas for improvement. Assessment should also include checks with the Criminal Records Bureau, NSPCC, Probation Service, your child’s school (where relevant) and your general practitioner for a health assessment.

The assessment process often takes three months or more. It should be done by a qualified social worker. The social worker should visit on a regular basis and meet with you and all the key members of your family. Again it is really important that the assessment is undertaken in a time frame that meets your and your family’s needs. Don’t be pressurised to complete it if you don’t feel ready. Ask for more time if you need it or less if you feel the process is dragging on unduly.

Once the assessment report is completed it should be presented to the fostering service provider’s fostering panel. You should be invited to attend the panel so that you can answer any questions panel members may have. The members of the fostering panel will make a recommendation to the agency decision maker about whether or not you should be approved as a Foster Carer, for what age range of children and young people, the gender of the children and young people and the type of fostering ie respite, bridging, short term or long term. (Your assessment report should not be put forward for consideration to the panel if your assessing social worker thinks it unlikely you will be approved. All issues that could affect you becoming an approved foster carer should be addressed as the issues arise during the assessment process.) The agency decision maker will then consider the panel’s recommendation and make a decision about your approval. You should be notified very soon after the panel meets, but not necessarily on the same day. You should receive a certificate of approval which should identify the approval categories as outlined above.

You are then an approved Foster Carer. Once you are approved you can take your first placement of a child or young person.