Emergency response care fostering
Emergency carers provide a safe home environment at very short
notice, from just a few hours up to 72 hours. Arrangements are
quickly made for children to return home or move on to time limited
foster carers. If interested in this type of care, you need be able
to care for children from birth to 16 years of age. You also need
to have previous parenting and child care experience.
Back to
top
Time
limited fostering
Ranging from an overnight stay to a few months, this usually
results from difficulties in the family or the child being harmed
or abused in some way. Offering a safe place to live, you'll help
them to understand what's happening and offer support, whilst the
social worker engages with the family to return the child home as
soon as possible.
Back to
top
Long
term fostering
Despite loving their children, some parents are unable to
provide them with the necessary care. You can help by offering a
child the chance to grow up in a safe and supportive environment,
where they'll receive care and attention and the opportunity to
keep in touch with their family.
Back to
top
Respite
care fostering
Foster carers often need a short break from a couple of days to
two weeks. You may work full time but feel able to provide this
important break to the main carers.
Back to
top
Part
time link care fostering
This involves having children with a disability stay with you
for a short time so their families can have a regular break. This
care can range from a few hours each week to a weekend a month, for
planned breaks and sometimes in an emergency.
Back to
top
Specialist fostering
Some children require experienced specialist care to meet their
complex health and/or challenging behaviour needs. If you choose
this option you will need to be available full-time and have a
range of skills and experience of working with children.
Back to
top
Fostering groups of brothers and
sisters
Staying together is very important to children who have had
changes in their lives. Through this type of care, you might find
yourself caring for two, three or maybe more children.
Back to
top
Fostering a mother and baby
You may feel able to help some mothers who need support and
security and people who can teach and encourage them without taking
over their responsibilities. Often perceived as very demanding and
daunting, fostering needn't be a seven days a week, 52 weeks a
year, round-the-clock task. Every child has different needs,
requiring many different forms of support, all equally important to
them.
Back to
top
Private fostering
If a child under the age of 16 (or under
18 if they are disabled) is cared for, and provided with
accommodation, for 28 days or more by someone other than their
parent, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, or uncle this is
usually considered to private fostering.
Back to top