What is fostering?

Fostering is caring for a child or children in your own home who can’t live with their own family and have become “looked after” by the local authority. Some children are looked after for short periods of time and others need longer.

Aside from the trauma of being separated from their family, many looked after children are experiencing period of chaos in their lives, usually as a result of chaos in their family. This may be as a by product of drug or alcohol abuse in the home or due to being visited directly by physical or sexual abuse.

Such is the concern that a local authority in conjunction with a court will decide to move a child for a period of time, pending assessment, and foster care is the solution. As no longer being with their family can be seriously traumatic for a child, the local authority social worker and fostering agency have to find the best solution in a short space of time, often as an emergency and within as little as two hours.

The major strands of fostering are:

1)  Caring for child in your house
2)  Caring for them in a way that makes life better
3)  Dealing with the issues the child brings with them, and
4)  The foster carer's personal development

It can be life changing stuff but if that sounds daunting, don't worry - our carers aren't left on their own, everyone has great training and 24 hour support. We're all over you!