Foster care offers children a safe and caring family, usually geographically close to their family home.
Foster care is when a child can no longer live with their own family, so is placed into the care of foster carers. The foster carer, or foster parent’s, job is to provide a safe, secure environment for the foster child on either a temporary or more permanent basis. In the United Kingdom, there are about 78,000 children who have been taken into care, and more than 60% of the time, these children are taken into care because of abuse or neglect. Find out more reasons why children are in foster care.
Often, people query the difference between fostering and adoption. Adoption refers to a long-term permanent solution where, as the parents, you have full legal responsibility of the child. However, in foster care, this is usually more of a temporary measure – and the local authority and child’s birth parents still have legal responsibility for the child. For more information, read our Fostering Vs Adoption guide – which provides a detailed explanation of the difference between the two.
Foster carers are registered with either an approved independent fostering agency, like us here at FosterCare UK, or by a local authority. Most local authorities in England have their own foster carers, but over the last ten years, increasingly more foster children are looked after by carers registered with fostering agencies. This year, nearly half of all new foster placements will be made with fostering agencies.
Most new carers choose to join private independent agencies, like FosterCare, rather than a local authority – this is often due to the extensive fostering training and extra support that’s provided. By choosing an independent fostering agency, you will receive 24-hour support any day of the year from our friendly and expert team.
There are various types of foster care available for carers. It may be that a placement begins on an emergency fostering placement, but then moves into a temporary response. Some of the different types of fostering include:
To learn more, find out about all the different types of foster care now.
All children deserve a safe place to live – and the demand for foster carers to support the children in the care system is always high. Are you passionate about making a difference in young people’s lives? Foster care may be the right path for you. And by choosing FosterCare as your fostering agency, you’ll be in safe hands – with our team guiding you every step of the way. Allow us to let you become the best foster carer you can be - learn more about why you should foster with FosterCare now.
Do you have experience or interest in providing a family life for children? Or are you wondering how to get into foster care? Contact FosterCare UK to discuss the assessment process today. In the meantime, learn more about the fostering requirements, and why you should choose FosterCare.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with FosterCare UK, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
