What happens after I am approved to foster?
Once you are approved at panel you will be added to the list of available Foster Carers within your organisation.
When potential placements come through in your locality you will be contacted and information regarding the child will be sent through to you in the form of a Referral Form.
The information will provide a pen picture of the child which will include their age, gender, school, any health matters and the reason they are in/or coming into foster care.
You can ask further questions regarding the child before any placement is made and best practice is to have a meeting with the Child’s Social Worker to find out more before making a decision on the placement. Your fostering organisation will support with this.
The most important thing to remember is that YOU decide on placements. If you feel that a placement would not be right for you you can feed this back to your organisation.
It is the Child’s Social Worker who agrees on the placement for a child. If you have agreed to the placement and the Child’s Social Worker agrees it is a good match, plans for the placement to take place will commence and you will be supported by your Supervising Social Worker to make the arrangements.
Type of placements
There are a number of different types of fostering placements:
The most common fostering placements are :
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Short term foster placements
This is probably the most common placement type. This is where the child is in care on a short term basis which could be anything in timescales from a few weeks to a couple of years.
Children in this type of placement will either return to family, or if it is deemed not suitable to return home to a family member, their placement may convert into a long term fostering placement which means a child will be in foster care until they are eighteen and/or independent.
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Long term foster placements
This placement type is where the child concerned will be remaining in foster care until they are independent.
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Sibling placements
This is where related children are placed together within one fostering home.
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Respite placements
This is where a child placed with another foster carer in your organisation needs respite. These placements are short and generally last from one day to a couple of weeks.
Other fostering placements:
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Step down fostering placements
These placements are less common, they involve supporting a child to transition from residential care to foster care.
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Parent and child foster placements
These placements involve having a parent and their child placed in a fostering home for support.
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Foster placements for disabled children
This is where respite or longer term care may be needed for a child who has a disability or significant needs.
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Foster Placements for children seeking Asylum in the UK
These are placements for children and young people under the age of 18 who are seeking Asylum in the UK.