1. What is fostering?
Fostering means providing a safe caring home for children and young people, while their own families are unable to care for them.
2. How is fostering different from adoption?
• Fostering: When a child is cared for by foster carers, the parents of the child retain some level of parental responsibility for the child even if it is shared with the local authority who made the decision that the child needed to be placed with foster carers.
• Adoption: When a child is adopted, the adoptive parents have full parental responsibility for the child and become their legal parents.
3. Who can foster?
You can apply to foster if you are:
• Over 21 years old
• In good health
• Able to provide a stable home with a spare bedroom available for fostering
Marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, cultural heritage, or whether you rent or own your home does not impact on whether or not you can foster.
4. Do I need qualifications to foster?
No formal qualifications are needed. However, you will go through an assessment process and receive training before and during your fostering journey.
5. Do foster carers get paid?
Yes. Carers receive allowances to cover the child’s needs (food, clothing, travel, activities, etc) and a fee to recognise their work.
6. What support do foster carers receive at Fitzgerald Fostering?
• Ongoing training and development tailored to your needs and those of the children you are caring for.
• Support from an experienced supervising social worker
• Access to foster carer support groups
• A ‘buddy’ scheme for newly approved foster carers
• Access to a qualified therapist that will know you and the children in you care
• Out-of-hours support services available 24 hours a day 7 days a week
• Respite care (short breaks) if needed
• Social events and activities throughout the year
7. How long does it take to become a foster carer?
The process usually takes 4–6 months from you making an application to become foster carers to you being approved as a foster carer.
8. How long do children stay in foster care?
This is different for every child but can be summarised as follows:
• Short-term: From a few nights to a couple of years.
• Long-term: The child or young person will stay with carers until adulthood often for a number of years.
• Respite: This for short breaks, usually a few nights to a couple of weeks.
9. Can foster carers have a job?
Yes, many foster carers work, but being a foster carer is a big commitment, and you will need to have the flexibility to support the child during the working week. You will be required to attend meetings, support family contact arrangements, and support the child in their day-to-day life (e.g. school runs).
10. Do foster children see their birth families?
Often, yes. Contact is encouraged if it is safe and in the child’s best interest and foster carers are often crucial in supporting this contact. This could be face-to-face, by phone, or through other mediums.
11. What types of fostering are there?
• Short-term fostering
• Long-term fostering
• Respite fostering
• Parent & Child Fostering
Can we create click through links for the above to the pages we are about to create?
12. Can I foster if I have my own children?
Yes, many foster carers have their own children, and this can be a real positive for the any child being fostered. As part of the assessment the wishes and feelings of your child/children will be sought to ensure that fostering is right for them too. We will always consider your children when placing a child in your home.
13. What happens if a placement doesn’t work out?
Sometimes placements end earlier than expected. Support is given to both the child and the foster carer, and another suitable placement will be found.
14. Do foster carers have to own their home?
No. Renting is fine, as long as you have a stable home and enough space for a foster child.
15. Do I need a spare bedroom to foster?
Yes, a fostered child would need their own bedroom. Sometimes siblings who are fostered together can share a bedroom, if appropriate to do so.
16. Can single people foster?
Yes. You do not need to be married or in a relationship to foster.
17. Can I choose the age range of children I foster?
Yes, you can express preferences about age, gender, or type of fostering, but the final match will depend on the child’s needs and your suitability to meet those needs.
18. Do foster carers get holidays?
Yes, but alternative care must be arranged for the child if they do not go with you. At Fitzgerald Fostering foster carers are entitled to 14 nights respite care per year.
19. What training do foster carers receive?
You’ll start with ‘Skills to Foster’ training before making an application to be assessed and then continue with specialist courses once you are an approved foster carer. This training covers a wide range of topics such as child development, managing behaviour, attachment, first aid, and safeguarding.
Can we link to our training page?
20. Can same-sex couples foster?
Yes. Sexual orientation does not affect your ability to become foster carers.
21. What makes a good foster carer?
• Patience and empathy
• A safe and stable home environment
• Good communication skills
• Willingness to learn and work with professionals and others
• Resilience and a commitment to supporting a child through challenges, as well as celebrating the successes.
