Could We Foster?

[greenrj]

Hi!!

My husband and I are currently thinking of fostering - we have respite in mind for the “ideal” situation we would like.

We have two spare rooms and no children but we do plan to try to concieve a baby within the next year or so. Even though we are only really interested in doing respite (at the moment!!!) should we wait until after we have a child to start the process? Or should we start anyway and take time out if we need to once we are hopefully approved? Also if we are approved for respite would we have to reapply in the future to do other forms of fostering?

I’m a teacher so all my weekends and school holidays are free and I would be the main carer - husband is very enthusiastic about fostering too but realistically I would be more involved. Later on when we have more of our own children I would give up work to be able to do longer term fostering rather than “just” weekends and holidays.

Does this sound doable? Thanks!

[shopaholicz]

Well done greenrj just for considering fostering. Respite carers are always in demand. Go for it. Good luck. 👌

[JacobMalloy02]

This is a decision which requires some consideration. I manage an IFA, so write from this perspective. We do not receive enough referrals for respite only, so unlikely that we would take you on as a carer. Mostly, we want people who can commit to children over and above a few days. Any respite that happens generally is done internally.

In regard to having a baby, as an IFA, we invest considerably into training, development and the assessment. If you are thinking about having a baby in the next year or so, we would not want to invest that time and resource. When you have a baby we would not place and matching along side you with some very challenging children may place you and your child at risk. In my experience, those carers who have had a baby whilst fostering have genuine intent to continue. However, Over the last ten years, when this has happened, they have been placed on hold and then they chose to resign. The demands of new parenting and fostering is very high and unless you have a significant support network and experience, it can be very challenging.

Likewise, pregnancy can be unpredictable with lots of health issues - again, balancing you, your unborn child and a foster child may cause concern.

It is a tricky one, but I am not one to put people off the idea of fostering, it just needs to be the right time in your life where you can commit fully.

Good luck with you plans.