If you are thinking about adopting, chances are you already have some of the important characteristics that are essential to being a mainstream foster carer.
There are currently around to 80,000 children in local authority care in England and the majority of these children (70%) are placed in foster care.
While in foster care, children live in the home of their carer and are treated as a member of the family but the length of time they spend in the home can vary from weeks or months to years.
Although the fostering application process is similar to the adoption application process (with assessment undertaken in two stages), the final piece of the puzzle – finding the right match – is likely to happen a lot sooner. This is because there is a national shortage of foster carers in the UK and therefore demand for mainstream fostering placements is high.
Could you foster?
As is the case with adoption, most people are eligible to foster. Each fostering household is unique and valuable.
You can become a foster carer regardless of your relationship status, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality or faith. Other factors, such as being disabled or having a medical condition, will not exclude you from fostering but the assessing agency will talk to you about how these issues might impact your ability to care for a child.
If adoption is something you are considering in order to make a real difference to a child’s life, fostering might also be an avenue for you to explore before coming to a decision about what is right for you.
To find out more about fostering and to identify a fostering agency local to you, visit The Fostering Network.
Commitment
Unlike adoption, fostering is not typically a life-long commitment. However, foster carers can transform a child’s life and have a profound impact on the children they care for.
Long-term or permanent fostering especially involves a special level of commitment to supporting a child or young person throughout their lives until they reach adulthood and sometimes beyond.
Both adopters and foster carers need to offer a stable family environment and provide love, time and commitment to a child. If you think you can do this, and can empathise with a child who may never have experienced these things as well as being patient and flexible enough to work through unique challenges, there is a good chance that you could be a foster carer.
Support
Due to their early life experiences, many children who need fostering or adopting have developed complex coping behaviours; as a result, parenting such children can be a rewarding but challenging job.
The unfortunate reality is that many adopters don’t have access to the same level of practical and emotional help offered to foster carers, who are supported in their role by a supervising social worker and will have access to regular training and development opportunities.
Many foster carers choose to foster as a career and receive a competitive weekly fostering allowance made up of a living allowance for the child and a professional fee for the carer.
Some foster carers, particularly if they foster as a couple, continue to work outside of the fostering household but the possibility of this will depend on your circumstances and will be discussed with you by the assessing agency.