Last month I asked whether you have got what it takes to be a foster carer; have you got a spare room, have you the time and commitment to offer a child, could a child benefit from your own life experiences and do you want a new venture amid a team of professionals who all have the interest and welfare of your foster child at the forefront of their minds? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you may be wandering, ‘how do I get started?’
Independent Fostering Agencies differ from the Local Authority Fostering Teams, though the process of becoming one their carers is largely the same. When a child is removed from their family home and a foster placement is needed, the Local Authority will generally look to their own pool of foster carers to offer a placement. Generally, though there are always exceptions, the Local Authority will be able to successfully place the younger aged children with their own carers. However, often the more difficult to place children, such as those that have additional health or behavioural needs, teenagers or children who have one or more siblings that need to be placed together, may be reliant on foster carers offered by the Independent Fostering Agencies. Therefore, the general rule of thumb, is that if you want to care for babies or pre-school children then approach the Local Authority Fostering Teams, and if you have the capacity to care for older school aged children, then you may be kept busier by an Independent Fostering Agency. Have a think about your circumstances, your preferences, your skills and experience and contact your home Local Authority or an Independent Fostering Agency in your area.
Most of these contact numbers are available on the internet.
So, you have thought about what you can offer and have made the call to the agency of your choice. It is likely now that you will be offered an initial telephone consultation with a qualified and experienced Social Worker who will listen to what you have to offer, ascertain basic details from you and answer any queries that you may have. From here, should both you and they be interested in progressing your enquiry, it is likely that you will be offered an Initial Visit by an agency Social Worker. This visit will give you a further opportunity to explore the reality of becoming a foster carer and afford you a further opportunity to ask more questions. It is also likely that at this visit, the Social Worker will require information from you that will enable them to make some provisional checks i.e. verification of your identity and proof of your address. Should this visit be successful, and the agency feels that you have the basic requirements to meet their criteria, you will then be invited to partake in a short course (this in some cases will come later). This course, often called ‘Skills to Foster’, can range from 2 to 3 days and will be led by experienced fostering trainers. You will learn more about fostering on this course, meet other prospective carers and quite often have the opportunity to listen to the stories of established and experienced foster carers, already working for the given agency. Most prospective foster carers find this an extremely worthwhile experience and will often provide them with information that can make or break their decisions to progress.
What next? Should you and your chosen agency decide to proceed, then it is at this point that you will be allocated a Social Worker who will take you through the Home Study process. Information will be collected from you so that police checks and health checks can be undertaken, along with references and information that further validates your circumstances. These checks will be conducted in the background by the agencies admin team, whilst your Social Worker will concentrate on the assessment. This can take some months and all aspects of your life, attitudes, circumstances and experiences will be discussed before your Social Worker produces a lengthy and detailed report which will consider the types, ages and characteristics of the child or children that you are able to care for. This report will be submitted to the manager of the agency before being sent to the fostering panel.
Talking done and report prepared; you will now be invited to the panel. The fostering panel is made up of a number of Independent Social Workers and professionals from a number of different disciplines, such as health and education. The fostering panel are there to offer an independent view on your suitability to become a foster carer and will make a recommendation to the senior manager of your chosen agency. If all are in agreement for your approval, then that’s it….you are now a foster carer and the fun and hard work begins. Good luck.
Next month we will look at a day in the life of a foster carer.
