Why foster?

Short-term fostering is temporary care for a child, siblings or young person while we work to reunite them with family or plans are made for their future.

The length of these arrangements can vary significantly depending on the individual circumstances of the child, from an emergency overnight stay, a few days, weeks or months, or as long as up to two years. Occasionally, short-term arrangements may lead to long-term care if that is right for the child and the carer.

This care is often needed because their families are unable to look after them during a particular time due to illness or concerns at home.

In comparison with other types of care, short-term foster carers often have more contact with a child’s birth family while assessments take place or decisions on their future are made. They may support a child as they return home, or as they move on into long-term foster care or to new adoptive families.

This type of care is one option that could enable carers to consider fostering around your existing home and work commitments.

Long term foster placements give children an opportunity to live in a stable foster placement with a committed carer until they reach adulthood. Long term fostering gives children a sense of consistency and belonging, helping them to developing positive new relationships and build links within their local community.

Long term foster carers offer the permanent one-to-one support and care that these young people need to thrive. This type of care is a long term commitment and you need to be willing to stick by them through the good and bad times until adulthood. You really could make a difference to their future.

You need to embrace them as another member of your family while recognising that they still have a relationship with their birth family. Long term fostering can appear to be very similar to adoption however unlike adoption a child in care with you on a long term foster placement will remain the legal responsibility of the local authority. With adoption, the legal responsibilities for the child are transferred to their adoptive parents.

A parent and child placement involves providing care to both a baby or young child alongside one or both their parents, usually on a short term basis.

Some parents need a little additional support, advice and some supervision while they develop their parenting skills. This could be due to their young age, concerns about their own self-care or wellbeing, living with learning or physical difficulties, requiring a place of safety, or simply that they don’t have any local family able to help.

Our parent & child arrangements enable the parent/s to remain the primary carer, and facilitate the family staying together rather than the child having to be placed alone.

Foster carers provide advice and support on childcare and providing a safe home environment, including feeding, bathing, safe handling, sleep routines, developing nurturing relationships and attachment, budgeting, cooking and healthy lifestyles. They will need a spare bedroom big enough to accommodate a bed and cot.

Placements will usually involve the mother and her baby, but they could also include the child’s father or an older child up to the age of two if a need has been identified when the child is a little older.

These placements can be intensive, and foster carers doing this work need good communication skills and the confidence to monitor and assess parenting potential.

In addition to the fostering allowance and a skills fee for each child or young person in their care, parent and child foster carers also receive a specialist fee for assessment based arrangements of £600-900 per week. Where the parent is not being cared for themselves, foster carers receive a weekly lodgings allowance of £200 per parent and they are expected to provide for themselves including food and clothing.

Supported Lodgings carers provide accommodation and a minimum of 10 hours a week support for a young person aged up to 24 taking their first steps into independence.

Many of these young people will be care leavers or they may be an unaccompanied child seeking asylum and safety, or are homeless.

We are looking for individuals, couples or families who understand the issues facing young people today and who are able to offer support in order to help them to develop their independent living skills such as cooking or budgeting.

People who can encourage them to develop friendships and maintain contact with family, whilst helping them with applications or to actively seek education, training or employment.

As these young people have a degree of independence, this type of care can fit well with carers who have work commitments.

Could you be a young person’s inspiration and mentor to help them get off on the right start to a successful independent life?

For more information and to meet some of our Supported Lodgings carers, visit our Supported Lodgings page.

Our Family Link carers provide regular short breaks for children with complex needs, such as a disability or medical condition. This gives the child’s parents a chance to have a regular break, whilst giving the child opportunities to meet new people and do different things.

You will need to have a genuine interest in providing short term care for a child with disabilities, within your home. These placements can last from a few hours up to a weekend.