The Assessment Process

The assessment process is an important part of the journey to become a foster carer.  Once you have submitted your application – which at Fitzgerald Fostering happens after prospective foster carers have had an opportunity to attend our Skills to Foster course – the two-stage process gets underway.

Stage one involves statutory checks and references – such as a DBS check, a medical assessment by your GP, and references from employers, family and friends.

Stage two, which takes place at the same time, is about the fostering service getting to know you and your family more. It’s also a time to gain greater insight into what fostering involves and to understand more about what could be required, as our independent assessment social worker, Monique, explains below.

Thank you for taking the time to chat to us, Monique. Can we start by hearing more about your own experience and your role with Fitzgerald Fostering?

I’ve been a social worker for over 20 years, working in fostering and adoption teams. For Fitzgerald Fostering, I work as an independent assessor.

Can you talk us through the assessment process?

Unlike other foster care providers, Fitzgerald Fostering starts the assessment process after their Skills to Foster course – which I think is brilliant, as it means prospective carers have already had three days of discovery and insight into what fostering involves before deciding if they want to go ahead. Ordinarily, you are only invited to join a Skills to Foster course once your assessment is underway.

Following the course, you will be invited to a one-to-one meeting with Baljit Kaur, Fitzgerald Fostering’s in-house therapist. In this session, you’ll talk through how you found the Skills to Foster course, and it’s an opportunity  to ask more questions and discuss any concerns.

If both parties are in agreement, this is when the assessment process begins.  Fitzgerald Fostering initiates the statutory checks (stage one) and, whilst these are taking place, I start getting to know the applicant (stage two).

Over a three-to-four-month period, I visit and spend time with the applicant in their home. At least ten visits take place, and during these visits it’s important that I get to know each member of the household.

We talk about the prospective foster carer(s) as individuals, their childhood, their relationships, their approach to parenting – should they have birth children – and more.

I always try to put applicants at ease. I appreciate that I am asking people to share life experiences, some that can be challenging to recall, and applicants need to know that they can trust me. Some applicants worry that adverse experiences they have had in their own lives, particularly in their childhoods, could prevent them from becoming foster carers but this is not necessarily the case. In fact, these experiences can lead to a real wealth of understanding and empathy that are so valuable in foster care.

I always thank everyone for sharing their information with me.

The assessment process is two-way: by getting to know the applicant and their household, I am assessing whether they will be able to meet the needs of a child unable to live with their birth family; and, through our conversations, the applicant will gain a fuller picture of fostering, helping them to prepare.

Following the assessment sessions, what happens next?

Next, I prepare a report, which is a comprehensive document about the applicant and their household, providing insight into our conversations. At the end of the report, I make recommendations. Fitzgerald Fostering reviews the document and then it is shared with the applicant, who has a chance to review it before it is sent to the Panel.

And you are also involved in the panel process. Can you explain your role in that?

Yes, I accompany the applicant at the Panel, and I also help them prepare for Panel, going through the sort of questions they might be asked. The Fitzgerald Fostering Panel always takes place in person, which I think is great but is very unusual now.

I sit with the applicant and can also answer questions. Again, I try to put them at ease.

Is there anything you’d like to say to people preparing for their assessment?

The assessment process is rigorous – it has to be – but the time taken by Fitzgerald Fostering to allow this to happen in person, so that we really have a chance to get to know one another, is so valuable. It’s about really making sure the applicant is prepared, and that both parties feel they are a good fit for each other.

At Fitzgerald Fostering, we support our foster carers 24/7 to give the best care possible to the young people they look after.

If you live in Guildford, Slough, Reading, Bracknell, Farnham, Maidenhead, Wokingham or surrounding areas – please contact us to find out more or call us on 01753550031. At Fitzgerald Fostering, we are with you all the way.