Could I try fostering before I choose to adopt?

Through adoption, you become a child's legal parent, as if that child had been born to you. Fostering involves caring for somebody else’s child until permanent plans are made for their future, providing them with stability and support to make sense of their past and future.

Foster carers take care of the child on a day-to-day basis, usually working with the fostering agency, other professionals and the child’s birth parents. They share the care of the child with the local authority and the birth parents, but do not have parental responsibility, which remains with the birth parents. Most children in foster care return to their birth families at a later date, though this depends on the foster placement they are in – there are many different types!

Short-term foster care is a much-needed way to help children who require looking after on a temporary basis. It could be weeks, months, or longer before future plans are made so these children can either return home, or become permanently cared for elsewhere. Short-term foster carers play an important role in helping children in this situation feel as secure as possible during a time of uncertainty, and help prepare them for the future.

Permanent fostering usually involves fostering a child until they reach adulthood. It does not provide the same legal security as adoption, although it could be suitable for some children, particularly older children, who may need regular contact with their birth families, or children with complex care needs.

Read about other types of foster care placements

Some foster carers go on to adopt the child or children they have cared for, if this is in the child’s best interests. However, fostering should not be considered an easy route to adoption, because each involves different types of preparation and assessment. Foster carers planning to adopt a child need to be reassessed and approved as adoptive parents. Most recent figures, provided by the government - formerly DCSF, now Department for Education (DfE) - show that, over the March 31 2008 to March 31 2009 period, 430 children, or 0.7 per cent of all looked after children, were adopted by their foster carers.

If you are still unsure which option is right for you, talk to an adoption or fostering agency, who should be able to help you identify which is most suitable for your circumstances.

Now what?

• Read more about the adoption and fostering process, and how they differ

• Read our answer to a similar question, ‘What is the difference between adoption and fostering?'

• Contact an agency to discuss what adoption and fostering involve

Last updated: 29 June 10

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