Hello there - think Cazmaggs post is really helpful. I am a retired team mgr of a Fostering & Adoption team for a LA - 30 years service in all.
You mention whether you can choose the age of the child, and mention respite and long term. All of these issues will be discussed with you if you apply to foster. Briefly, it is possible to be assessed for respite only, short term, or long term fostering. I think it is best to start off with short term, although that can mean anything from 2 days to 2 years especially if the courts are involved in the case. The thing is with short term you do get to know what it is like having a foster child living with you (as you can't know this until it happens) and of course all children are different. I worry about people going straight into long-term or permanent fostering, as it doesn't give any opportunity to "test the water" so to speak. Re age - this needs to be fully discussed and if you have children of your own this will be a consideration, because it isn't good practice to take a child older than your eldest child, as your child loses his position as "eldest child" - also there needs really to be a 2 year gap between the fostered child and your own children, but many LAs are not bothering about this so much these days as they are often in urgent need of foster homes. Also it depends on you and your family and any work that either of you do and what the LAs need is - usually they are "well stocked" with carers who take babies and under 5s and the need is usually for older children, and 2 together if siblings, and children with disabilities. However you need to discuss all this fully with the sws - it isn't so simple as just thinking of an age to be honest.
The issue about LA or IFAs (Independent Fostering Agencies)
OK here's the difference. If you foster for the LA you will be taking children who come into care (now called the Looked After system) so children in care will be referred to as Looked Aftered Children. You will have support from a fostering social work and to a lesser extent the child's social worker. You will be paid an allowance for the child and a fostering "fee" for the work of caring for a child.
IFAs started springing up in the 90s and now they are "ten a penny" and they may call themselves "independent" but that means private. They are run by directors and it is like a business. The IFAs don't have children, but they recruit foster carers, so they have to "sell" the families that they recruit to the LA and they charge a significant amount of money, though they pay their carers more in allowances. LAs are so cash strapped that "buying" iFA carers makes huge holes in their already shrinking budgets. IFA directors make huge profits and there are several in the area in which I worked (a Shire county) I know of directors of IFAs who ride around in Porsches (big flashy cars) and one I know bought a string of race horses and they don't come cheap!
LAs will also try to "bring children back" from IFA placements (because of the cost ) as soon as a LA foster carer has a vacancy. Not good for children of course, but I'm afraid finance is a huge issue. In my experience SSDs have always been under resourced in terms of finance, but since this coalition came in, budgets have been slashed, causing all sorts of problems for all public services.
SO it's a matter of choice. Yes the IFA will get you on to a preparation course and carry out your assessment quicker than a LA because they have enough staff to do this (they pay their sws more than LA does) but here's the rub - this is all charged to the LA in the enormous amounts they charge to "sell" one of their families.
SO do you want to line the pockets of these entrepreneurs - if so go for an IFA. Oh and don't be fooled by the "not for profit" IFAs, all this means is they don't pay shareholders, but it doesn't stop them taking large salaries from the profits they make from LAs. They won't tell you this of course and many carers have been amazed to find that the IFAs just cost everything to the LA.
If you don't want to act in this way, then go for the LA
How did you guess this is an issue about which I feel very strongly!
I may well get IFA carers coming on to defend their position and can I say that in respect I don't blame carers going to IFAs, as we all have to be responsible for our own finance and IFAs do pay more than LAs.
Websites which may be useful are "British Agencies for Fostering & Adoption" (BAAF) and Fostering Networks (the national organisation of Fostering)
