How to foster
If having read the information on this site you feel that fostering could be for you, then please contact our placement service team on the number at the top of the screen.
The team will spend time discussing your queries or concerns before arranging for one of our local centre managers to visit you at home. We have offices in East Sussex, Brighton & Hove, West Sussex, Hampshire and London, so if you become a carer you will be supported by a local team.
Application
With your agreement, they will also send your details on to your nearest centre. We have a network of local offices where our support and education teams are based. We take time to recruit staff who understand the demands and the many rewards of fostering, and they will work alongside you and your family to ensure the best possible chance of success for children in your care. Your local centre will also arrange regular support groups and social events so that you feel part of a strong team working together.
Once you have met one of our team, between you, you will make a decision about whether or not it is the right time to fill in an application form and start the training and assessment process.
Training
If it is the right time, you will be invited to attend a two day introductory course to fostering. This will give you the opportunity to find out more about the realities of fostering, ask questions and meet approved foster carers who will share their experiences with you. Courses take place regularly throughout the year and are designed to be both informative and enjoyable. The course is called ‘Skills to Foster’ and has been designed by the Fostering Network. If you are intending to foster as a couple both of you will need to attend.
Assessment
Every family selected to join Families for Children will undergo an assessment process. This is carried out by a social worker and involves on average six to eight visits and interviews in your home with you and your family members. You will also be asked to give the names of individuals who are prepared to offer personal references on your behalf. The social worker will also visit these people and interview them. A variety of checks will be undertaken including enhanced CRB disclosures and medicals.
The social worker will prepare a report for our Fostering Panel who will decide if you are to be recommended for approval as a foster carer. Don’t worry! – our job is to make sure you are supported and kept fully informed throughout the assessment process and most carers say that they enjoy the experience and find it interesting and insightful.
Approval
Our Fostering Panel currently consists of nine people who all have unique experiences of fostering (there is also a minute taker and the Panel Advisor). You will be asked to attend the Panel. The Panel members will make a recommendation based on the information the social worker has presented. Several of the Panel members are independent of Families for Children so as to ensure objectivity of the information they are given (they receive the paperwork prior to Panel so have read through it beforehand). However, we have a skilled and experienced group of assessing social workers and are renowned for the high quality of our assessments so you can be reassured that the report going to Panel will hold no surprises for you.
Following approval, you will again be contacted by your local Centre, and your fostering career with Families for Children will begin! We have an expectation that all carers will participate in our comprehensive training programme and you will be given a copy of our latest training brochure. This is an ideal opportunity to meet other carers across the agency, share experiences as well as increase your knowledge and skills as a carer. You will also be invited along to the office to meet the team of people who will be working with you.
We hope you will want to join our agency. Whilst there are times when it may be frustrating and difficult, nothing is more rewarding than making a difference in a child’s life - together we can make that happen.
