Becoming a foster parent
Once you have been approved to foster your social worker will start looking to match you with a child.
Finding a child to foster
Being matched with a child
Introductions
Moving in
Contact
If the placement does not work out
Support
Adopting a foster child
Finding a child to foster
Once you have been approved to foster your social worker will start looking to match you with a child. They may already have a child in mind for you. The fostering team from your agency will usually look within the geographical area they cover. Some children need to remain close to their birth families; others need to be placed much further away.
There are also things you can do yourself to help with the process of being matched with a child. You can see profiles children waiting for permanent families across the UK by subscribing to Be My Parent and beginning to use the online family-finding service, and receiving the newspaper every month. You could also subscribe to the Fostering Network or Adoption UK.
If your agency feels you are suitable to permanently foster a particular child they will approach you and find out if you are interested. The child may be in the care of your agency, or another local authority.
Some foster carers care for more than one child at a time. In England and Wales, you cannot foster more than three unrelated children at the same time.
Being matched with a child
Once a possible match with a child has been found, your social worker, or a social worker for the child’s agency if different from your agency, will approach you (usually through your social worker) with some initial details about the child. Your social worker will also usually forward brief details about you to the child’s social worker.
If you, your social worker, the child’s social worker and the child placement social worker for the child’s agency are in agreement that you might be a suitable match, you will be offered more information including a background report on the child, also known as a Child Permanence Report or a Form E. This is a detailed report which contains the information needed to find a suitable new family for the child, including details of the child’s background, history and birth family, proposed contact and support.
The child’s agency must also give you any other relevant reports and information relating to the child’s health, education and special needs. At this stage, your social worker may also pass a copy of your home study or Form E to the child’s social worker, or agency if different from yours.
If all parties still agree that you may a suitable match, the social workers for the child’s agency may then visit you and your social worker, usually at your home. This is an important part of the matching process and is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. This can be both an anxious and very exciting moment, and there may be many twists and turns before you are finally matched with a child.
Often, the child’s agency will consider several families for the same child at the same time, and you may be disappointed not to be the family chosen in the end. Any decisions made about a match will be based on the best interests of the child.
Some agencies will consider the approval of a match between a child and their permanent foster carers at a permanence or fostering panel. If this is the case, the panel will usually consider information contained in a number of reports about you and the child presented to the panel by the child’s social worker, and your social worker. The reports include your home study report or Form F, and child’s background report or Form E. The decision-maker for the child’s agency will make the final decision about whether to approve the match based on the panel’s recommendations.
Once a decision has been made about a match, the social workers involved will meet with you to confirm plans for support, proposed contact with the child’s birth family and significant others, and introductions.
This is another momentous step forward!
Introductions
Meeting the child or children you want to foster is another important and exciting step, when your hopes and dreams start to become a reality. You will be introduced to the child gradually. There is no set pattern for introductions and no fixed timescales, as each child is different and their needs will vary. Introductions for an older child may last up to eight weeks.
- First you may be told some details about the child and shown photographs and perhaps a video.
- You may be asked to prepare a letter or video for the child before you meet them, depending on their age.
- If the child is currently living with another foster family, you will be able to talk to them before meeting the child in their current home.
- You should be invited to meet with the child’s birth parents and professionals involved in the child’s care.
Introductions can be both physically and emotionally tiring, and may involve lots of travel, as well as meeting lots of new people involved with the child, so it is important to look after yourself. Your friends and relatives in your support network will be important, as well as your social worker, and other support organisations such as the Fostering Network.
If you have any concerns, or do not feel the match is right for you at this stage, it is best to say so now, rather than later; it is not too late to withdraw.
Moving in
When a child is placed, the local authority and foster carers must make a foster placement agreement about matters such the arrangements for the child’s health and other needs to be met, contact with their birth family, and financial support. The local authority for the child must provide carers with written information about the child’s background, health and development.
You will receive regular visits from the child’s social worker, who will look at how the placement is going, as well as your own supervising social worker, who is there to support you. The child or children you foster are required to have regular reviews to assess their welfare and progress. The first review meeting usually takes place one month after the child has been placed, three months after that, and then every six months whilst the child is in foster care. As the child’s foster carer, you will be involved in these meetings, and a great deal of importance will be attached to your contributions.
You will also have contact with the child’s birth family, and any professionals working with the child such as counsellors, teachers or medical specialists. Many new foster carers find it useful to meet with an experienced foster carer who can act as a mentor.
Contact
Often, when a child is permanently fostered they still have some level of contact with their birth family. The type and level of contact is always arranged with the best interests of the child in mind, although your feelings and the feelings of the child's birth family will be taken into consideration. Unique contact arrangements will be needed between each child and his or her birth family depending on the individual circumstances. Contact arrangements can change over time as the child’s needs change. It is usually considered important for siblings who have been separated to have some form of contact with each other, if possible.
If the placement does not work out
If a fostering placement does not work out, the child will be transferred to another foster placement or alternative type of placement such as residential care. You will be offered support by your agency to help you through this difficult and painful time which often provokes enormous feelings of guilt, anger, failure and grief for everybody involved. Some agencies arrange a meeting called a disruption meeting, which enables everyone concerned to come together to reflect on the events and what can be learned from them. Even if you no longer live with the child, they may still value and benefit from having you in their lives.
You may feel that you and the child were not right for each other and that you could succeed with a different child. If your social worker agrees with you, you may get the chance to foster another child with the same agency, or you may decide to apply to foster with a different one, although you would need further preparation and assessment.
Support
Foster carers receive ongoing training and have annual reviews to ensure they are still suitable to care for children. During these reviews, agencies work with foster carers to recognise positive developments and identify and areas that would benefit from further training.
When you are matched with a child for permanent fostering, the ongoing support that you and the child need will be carefully considered. Support can range from financial support, to support with health or educational needs. It can also include ongoing professional or legal advice, therapeutic support, help with facilitating contact between the child and their birth relatives, and access to local support groups.
You will have regular contact with the child’s social worker and your supervising social worker. Usually they will visit you at home regularly to access how the placement is working out, and to ensure you are adequately supported. Many agencies also have an out-of-hours support service you can call at evenings, weekends and public holidays.
Adopting a foster child
Although fostering is not an easy route into adoption, some foster carers go on to adopt a child they have fostered for a number of years. As adoption means the child loses all legal ties with their birth family, this may not be the best option for all children. There are several alternatives to adoption including a parental responsibility agreement/order, a residence order (that offers shared parental responsibility) or special guardianship (that gives special guardian parental responsibility). To find out more, speak to your local authority social services department or seek independent legal advice from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. You can also see BAAF resources for adopters and fosterers or contact your nearest BAAF office.
Could I try fostering before I decide to adopt?
Last updated: 21 February 08
