If, for whatever the reason, if your child is unable to live with you at home and has to live with foster carers, this will be incredibly hard for you. We understand that you will be experiencing a range of strong feelings such as sadness, anger, confusion and helplessness. Some parents who have been through this have said that having a stranger caring for their child is one of the most difficult things they have ever faced, even when it's only for a short time, or when it’s something they have requested themselves. We know that because of strong feelings, it is hard to take in everything you have been told about fostering and what it means.
Here is some information which will help with any questions you may have. If you still need more information, check out Your rights or contact your social worker directly.
Who are foster carers and what do they do?
Foster carers are ordinary people doing the very important job of caring for other people's children. Fostering families come in different shapes and sizes, just like all families. Some carers will foster only one child whilst others may care for foster brothers and sisters and small groups of children. Some carers may foster children for short periods, possibly helping them to return home, and others may foster for very long periods until a young person is old enough and mature enough to live independently.
Here are some other things about foster carers that you might like to know:
- All our foster carers have to be approved by our Fostering Service or an external fostering service provider. All foster carers have to comply with the same regulations and requirements to be approved in terms of foster carer registration.
- The backgrounds of all foster carers and any other adults over sixteen years of age in their household are carefully looked at when someone applies to foster. This ensures that they are the right people to care for children.
- Our foster carers are supported by Angus Council or by independent agencies. If we are unable to find a suitable foster home for a child within our pool of registered foster carers, we may look for a place with a foster carer from one of the external agencies.
- Foster carers receive training and support before and after they are approved to foster so that they can continue to learn about the best way to support fostered children.
- Foster carers are supervised and supported by their own social worker. This is a separate social worker from the one who is responsible for your child.
- All foster carers receive an allowance which help with the cost of caring for the children they look after. Foster carers also receive a fee for their skills, time and experience. They are expected to attend meetings, undertake training, and comply with regulations. Without these payments, they would not be able to foster as, like any other family, they would have to find paid employment elsewhere.
What happens when my child goes to stay with foster carers?
Your child’s social worker and social workers from the Fostering Service will work together to make sure that the foster home is a good match for your child before they start living there. We want you to be involved with your child’s placement as much as possible and you have the right to certain information about who your child is living with and where they are based. You will also be asked to share information about your child which will help the foster cares give your child the best experience that they can.
Placement Planning Meetings
Within 72 hours of your child going to stay a foster carer, a Placement Planning Meeting will take place. This meeting brings together the parents, the child (if they are old enough), the child’s social worker, the foster carers and their social worker. The purpose is to give everyone a chance to meet each other, to make sure that everyone is clear about why your child needs a foster home at this time and what the immediate Care Plan will be for your child. The Care Plan is important because it helps everyone involved understand what your child needs.
The social workers’ job at this meeting is to make sure that the foster carers have as much information as possible to help them care for your child. This includes information about family, health, education, routines, activities, likes and dislikes. You are most likely the person who knows your child best, so your knowledge be important to help the carers to understand your child and give them the best care that they can and to help your child to settle quickly.
As a parent, you need to feel reassured about the care your child will receive. Parents have the right to information about the sort of foster family their child is going to stay with. Even in the very unusual situations when parents can't be told where their child is living, they still have a right to know roughly where the carers live and what their home is like.
Initial Child Planning Meeting and Review Child Planning Meetings
It is important for you to be part of these meetings because there will be further discussions about arrangements for family time (time that they spend with their birth family, such as parents, brothers and sisters and grandparents).
They will also discuss ways that parents, social workers and foster carers will work together to meet your child’s needs while they are away from home. This includes discussion on what decisions and tasks foster carers can undertake on your behalf. The most important thing is that your child gets the care they need as quickly as possible. Children and young people in foster care say they feel embarrassed and upset if there are delays in agreeing things, or if needing to get consents and agreements from parents and social workers makes them stand out from other children. That is why parents, foster carers and social workers all have a responsibility to discuss and agree things as much as possible in advance so that the arrangement work well for the child.
As a parent, if you give prior permission, or if the local authority gives permission to foster carers to consent for the everyday decisions that all children need such as emergency or routine medical treatment, school trips, overnight stays or haircuts, this will help the foster carer to make the best arrangements possible for your child without delays.
Responsibilities work both ways. So, for you to feel comfortable with foster carers taking decisions that you and/or the social workers have agreed in advance, you are entitled to receive timely, reliable information from the foster carer and/or the social worker about what has been decided and when.
You can also be reassured that you will be asked about any other decisions that may need to be taken over and above what has already been agreed. However, it will depend to some extent on your child's age and your individual situation.
Some helpful hints before you go
1. Please tell your child’s social worker (and foster carer/s where appropriate) about your child's day-to-day care, routines and likes and dislikes, for example, their health, religious practices, and education. Why not think about writing these down for the foster carer so that they always have them to hand?
2. Please make sure you are take our calls and respond to messages. Social workers or foster carers may need to consult you or advise you of something at short notice, so let them know of any change of address or telephone number as soon as you can.
3. Please do not be afraid to ask questions of any of the workers involved about your rights, about foster care and about your child's foster carers. If they do not have the answers, they will point you in the right direction for relevant help and advice.
4. Please attend meetings. If you cannot attend for any reason, please let your child’s Social Worker know beforehand and they will find other ways to include you and keep you informed.
5. Please ask for support if you need it. You can speak with your child’s Social Worker or the Duty Social Worker in the fostering team (01241 464646) about additional services or sources of support for parents of children in foster care.