Council vs Agency fostering

[HellHathNoFury]

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I am interested in becoming a foster carer.

We have already had a lady from a private agency round and we start the F1 forms next month.

However...

Does anyone have experience with Agency vs Council fostering?

What are the main differences?

As I understand it, Agency is paid more, but you also get more 'challenging' children...
but I have also heard that agency will pay you even if you don't have a placement?

Can anyone advise on the pros/cons of council vs agency?

I have been a social services foster carer and my SIL is an agency foster carer. She doesn't get paid if she doesn't have a placement but that could depend on the agency I suppose. I enjoyed very much the fostering that we did and the children were really lovely. I think the council tries to match children to your family whenever possible to avoid breakdowns in placements. The only reason we stopped was because we went on to adopt 2 of the kids we fostered and wanted to concentrate on them for a while. The money wasn't great but it was certainly adequate for their needs with a little left over. SIL gets a fortune but doesn't get the lovely family life that we had with our foster kids. That could be because she does teens and we did babies up to age 5. She thinks it's easier because there are no night feeds and they're at school all day... I just see her worry lines and grey hair!! I long to go back to fostering when the time is right but definately with the council. They're not perfect but it's the right system for us.

i work for the council and would say that we only go to private agencies as a last resort, and with our most challenging and difficult to place kids. there is a lot of hype about agencies paying more and being better at supporting carers but i feel that is rubbish. the best carers i have worked with are council ones, and our particular council fostering team is fantastic at supporting the carers we have. fosatering is hard work, but really rewarding, good luck and hope you enjoy it.

That's really useful feedback, thank you

In my OP I meant to say COUNCIL pay you even if you don't have a placement, not agency (doh!)

I haven't actually started the 'official' process with the agency yet and am having cold feet. I DO want to do it, but I am worried that I will tie myself in to an agency, have difficult children that put me off and compromise my own family life.

The worry I had with council was that I am not very experienced and as such would be on the lowest pay.

Also - if you go with council, what are their expectations with the carers working? DH would stay at work but I would like to keep my job P/T. The agency have said they WANT me to stay working, what do the councils usually feel about this?

Thanks again for the advice, your positivity is very reassuring!