Fostering FAQ
Click anywhere on the image below to start the Fostering video.
- What is foster care?
- How old are foster children?
- How long do children stay with a foster carer?
- Are all foster children challenging or difficult?
- Do I have to be married?
- Do you need special skills to be a foster carer?
- Will I receive training?
- Can I foster if I have a criminal record?
- How long does the assessment procedure take?
- What sort of home must I have?
- Will there be contact with the childs family?
- Does fostering lead to adoption?
- What support will I get?
- Do I get paid?
What is foster care?
This means you are caring for someone else’s child on behalf of a local authority and you are responsible for their day-to-day care. Sometimes foster carers will look after more than one child from the same family.
Foster carers often work in partnership with natural parents who may still want to be involved, and who maintain responsibility for their children and will continue to take some day-to-day decisions about their child.
How old are foster children?
Fostered children can age from newborn up to 18.
How long do children stay with a foster carer?
Children can be fostered for a few hours or up to several years, depending on what is in the best interests of the child.
Are all foster children challenging or difficult?
No, but every fostered child is facing a crisis in their life and this is obviously upsetting for them. They have had to cope with moving out of their own home. This may mean that they need sensitive care.
Each child will react differently to this stress and loss. Some may be aggressive and noisy, others over polite and willing to please. Some withdraw, while others seem unaffected.
Do I have to be married?
No, we will accept people with all sorts of circumstances. You do have to be of a minimum age of 21 as we will not normally consider people younger than this.
You can be home-owning or renting; single, married or co-habiting; with or without children of your own; from all ethnic groups; and working, retired or unemployed.
Do you need special skills to be a foster carer?
No, foster carers are ordinary people who have an interest in helping children and their families. They do need to be patient, empathetic and able to understand the feelings of children who have been experiencing a crisis in their life. A good sense of humour is often handy!
Will I receive training?
Foster carers are expected to attend training courses. We have a Skills to Foster course that is attended by all foster carers prior to approval. The training courses are likely to include information about working with parents and children, understanding abuse, managing challenging behaviour and dealing with attachment and loss.
Once approved, foster carers will be offered further training and should have a support worker assigned to them to help them resolve problems.
Can I foster if I have a criminal record?
Police checks are made when people apply to become foster carers. Applicants with any offence against a child or any violent crime are unlikely to be selected. But having a criminal record won’t necessarily disqualify someone from becoming a foster carer.
Much depends on the type and circumstance of the offence and how long ago it was committed.
How long does the assessment procedure take?
Many are completed within a few months, some may take as long as 18 months.
What sort of home must I have?
Foster carers live in all kinds of homes from large detached houses to two bedroom flats. All a fostered child needs is a bedroom and somewhere to keep their own personal possessions.
It is important that the whole family, especially your children if you have them, agree and want to foster a child. This is vital to the success of fostering.
Will there be contact with the childs family?
Quite often there will be contact with the child’s natural parents. These children have already had to deal with being separated from their family and home. It is usually better for them to be fostered close to where they live so they can keep in touch with family and friends and stay at the same school. The contact is preferably by visits but also by writing letters and phone calls.
Does fostering lead to adoption?
Sometimes foster care can lead to adoption although it is primarily meant to provide temporary care to children.
The child's needs are very carefully considered which can mean that another family may adopt the child, and not those people who have provided the child with long-term foster care.
Although some foster carers do go on to adopt the child in their care, this is never an automatic outcome. Fostering is not a quick route to adoption. If adoption is what you want you need to apply as an adopter from the beginning.
What support will I get?
Foster carers have a specialist social worker to support them and we provide support groups where foster carers can meet e.g. coffee mornings. Many of our foster carers support each other informally and meet informally for chats. See the foster carer support page for more information.
Do I get paid?
Currently we operate the Fee Payment Scheme which operates a 4 tier structure depending on the foster carers skills and training. Please see the foster carer payment for skills page for more information.