1st visit

[Summersoul]

Hi All
We are in the process of applying to become respite foster carers. We have the first home visit on Monday however due to the current covid situation the SW can't come into our house! So she is coming to chat to us in our garden which I'm finding all very bizarre
What kind of questions will she be asking us and our children at this initial visit?
Thanks guys

[Scout16]

We had our initial home visit today but it was done online through Microsoft Teams. She explained more about fostering, the agency, the process then asked briefly about our childhoods, lifestyle, experience with children, any medical issues. I also showed her around the house but that only took a few minutes. It was informal but there was a lot of information to take in even though i'd read up as much as I could beforehand. The call lasted about 2 hours.

[Summersoul]

Fab thank you x
Our spare room is currently a junk room I can barely open the door!! We are starting to clear it out ready to decorate but it's nowhere near ready! I figured that there is no rush given how long the process takes! What are the next steps once this initial visit is complete?

[Scout16]

They just need to see that you have the space available initially so shouldn't matter if it's bit of a mess.
We had to send an application form, just basic details really and sign a consent form for checks to be done. I have a mental health diagnosis so we have to get medicals done first. They will do dbs and local authority checks at same time I think. Then it will be visits from the social worker to discuss our background, lifestyle etc in a lot more depth. We were told we would do the Skills for Foster Training about half way through assessment.

[f0stercarer]

at our first visit the sw told me that our house was very messy and lots of foster children wouldnt like that. Probably not the best opening exchnage ! Today is the second anniversary of our first placement when three very scared little boys arrived at our door. We are st.ill in touch with them two years later. Tomorrow we are collecting four sisters who we anticipate staying for many years. We have had some tough times along the way but these are outweighed by the good times. Be yourself, trust in the assessment and see it through. There are some great kids out there who just need a chnace.

[Summersoul]

Thanks so much both I really appreciate it x
The SW is coming back next Monday to start taking our family history etc she said it can be quite intrusive what sort of questions can I expect? X

[Summersoul]

Also good luck on with your new placement hope it all goes well xx

[f0stercarer]

The process was very intrusive. They wont to know everything and are most interested in the most difficult bits of your history. We had quite a bit of baggage but for others there might not be as much to explore. I think our report at the end was 90 pages. They are looking for people who have experience and how they have dealt with those things so dont worry about skeletons in cupboards and dont try and keep secrets would be my advice.