Putting the permanence in fostering

This word, ‘permanent’, is key: it means that children will stay in their foster family until they reach the age of 18, and for many, will continue to be part of that family well beyond then.

For Julie, who, with her partner Patrick, has been permanent foster carer to Marie (now 17) for four years, “permanence is a word that means a lot. It means that Marie is never going to leave, not when she’s 18, 19, 20 or whatever – if she goes to university, not when she’s 25. She’s always going to be part of our family. I am sure when she’s 36 and has got her own children she will be bringing them to us, I will probably be looking after them. We are always going to be her mama and papa.” (Taken from a current study of care planning for permanence in foster care funded by the Nuffield Foundation, led by Professor Gillian Schofield. All names have been changed.)

So when does permanent fostering become the first choice of placement? Fostering can be the best permanence option for children with complex care needs, ranging from health conditions to learning or physical disabilities, and emotional or behavioural difficulties, as their foster carers feel more confident of accessing the necessary resources to support that placement. It is also often the best option for older children, who may need more ongoing direct contact with their birth family, or those who feel a strong loyalty to their birth parents and do not wish to be adopted.

This is one of the ways in which permanent fostering differs from adoption: foster carers do not have parental responsibility (PR) for the child, as adoptive parents do (although in Scotland, permanent foster carers can be given PR in some cases). A child who is permanently fostered remains the legal responsibility of the local authority and/or their birth parents. PR is defined as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property”, Children Act 1989. This means that the person, or persons, who have PR for a child will be able and entitled to make important decisions regarding the child and how they will be brought up, such as their religion, education, and where they live. It will also involve giving medical consent for treatments or surgery. Permanent foster carers will be able to make some decisions about the child, but will need to be clear about where their authority ends. Local authorities will provide guidance about this.

Another fundamental difference between adoption and permanent foster care is that there will be more regular, ongoing involvement with the child’s social worker, the foster carers’ key or supervising social worker, possibly other professionals involved with the child – such as teachers, health professionals or therapists – as well as the child’s birth parents, in many cases. Being a permanent foster carer means becoming part of the agency’s team and all those involved in planning for the child’s future and helping them develop to their full potential. Permanent foster carers are given ongoing support and training from their agency, and will also have regular reviews of their placements– even if that placement is a permanent one.

It is important that permanent foster carers – and their agencies –are clear about their role in the child’s life. They are the family in which the child is going to spend the remainder of their childhood, and are there to provide stability, love, support and to be positive role models until the child reaches adulthood – and even beyond. They are also the child’s carers, using their skills and training to support the child in having a positive identity of being in care, and contact with their birth family, while working with social work professionals.

As skilled and trained professionals, foster carers get paid a fostering allowance during the placement. There are national minimum allowances, but the actual amount can vary, depending on factors such as the location of the foster carer’s agency, the needs of the child in their care, but also their skills and commitment. However, foster carers are rarely ‘in it for the money’: the allowance is there mainly to provide essential financial support for the child. Moreover, caring for children whose behaviour can be very challenging can be a full-time occupation, and requires intensive and specific training on managing those behaviours.

Some people decide to become permanent foster carers at a time when their own children have grown up – the average age for all foster carers is over 50, compared to 38 for adopters in the UK. They may reach a stage in their lives when they have space and time to give a child the opportunity to grow up in a stable, loving family, and to put their parenting skills to good use. However, you don’t need to have already brought up a family to become a foster carer: agencies will provide full training and support.

If you are able to provide boundaries, structures and routines, can work with social work and other professionals, are committed to supporting a child in maintaining contact with their birth family, and to providing him or her with the opportunity to develop to their full potential in a caring environment, permanent fostering could be for you.

• Find out more about permanent fostering
• Find an agency to assess you
• Attend an information event near you
• Read the stories of families who are fostering

Isabelle Rameau

Originally published in the Be My Parent newspaper in May 2010.

This article is published with the kind permission of the people involved. You may download it for your own reference but if you wish to use it for any other purpose, please contact Be My Parent for authorisation: Be My Parent, BAAF, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Telephone: 020 7421 2666.

Last updated: 04 May 10

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