Link maker

[Hippocalipo]

Hi

I've just been added to the linkmaker website. I've seen in the question and answers section someone has said it takes 4 months to wait for a matching panel date, is this true? TIA

One of ours took about that, maybe less. The other was longer, but that was due to some complexity.

Roughly, yes. You will be busy during that time though with getting rooms ready, possibly finding a school, making an intro book and film, having a life appreciation day where you meet the curent and previous foster carers and possibly teachers, informing work and planning introductions.

We only waited about 6 weeks from being linked to attending matching panel. Our SW pushed for it to happen ASAP, so I don’t think 4 months is always the case. We started intros less that two weeks after panel. So about two months in all.

The timescale will vary hugely depending on how straightforward the match is, whether the placement is out of area meaning two local authorities to deal with, the availability of folk like paediatricians, foster carers etc and how busy the panel is. Sometimes it can be a very quick process and at others it can take longer than 4 months. For us it took 5 months from expressing an interest on Linkmaker to the DC moving in.

Indeed. I guess I should add there was over 7 months between us expressing an interest and getting linked. So whilst matching panel came quickly the whole process definitely wasn’t….