I am a childminder who has thought about fostering!

[MUM2BLESS]

Is anyone childminding and fostering? or just fostering?

For years i have considered fostering? I have heard that the assessment involves asking very personal questions. What is your experience and do you enjoy fostering?

DH and I were foster carers alongside having 2 young DC of our own. Our experience of the assessments were not at all awkward in terms of personal questions, it really doesn't get highly personal. Personal references are taken up, and risk assessments of your home undertaken. There is training to attend - which is paid, or at least expenses covered.

Councils desperately need more foster carers, and imo especially more who are experienced at caring for young children, so I'm sure they would love someone with childminding experience.

Whether they would allow you to actively be childminding at the same time as fostering I am unsure. The foster dc often have very complex needs, and being looked after alongside other DC can be difficult for them, especially if there a lot of others, who change regularly.

Another consideration is whether your mindees parents would be happy with them being looked after alongside foster children. We stopped fostering because of a foster child's treatment of our DD1, and although we plan to do it again in the future, I wouldn't be happy with my DC and foster kids being looked after together without me around. There are some very damaged foster children.

If I were you I would approach your coucil. A very friendly social worker will come out to meet you and chat over potential options. Depending on the ages and what kind of fostering you are interested in, it may be possible to work it around child minding, they will be able to advise. The money you would get from fostering would be higher ime than childminding money. If you don't want to take it any further, then it will be easy to say so. If it any point the process becomes too intrusive then you can pull out at that point; we were worried about that aspect but needn't have been. And if you decide to go ahead it tends to taken at least 6 months, so there is nothing to lose by starting the process at least.

There are lots of types of foster care; long term care, respite care (while long term foster carers are away on holiday or ill), emergency care (DC just taken from their unsuitable situation... this is probably the hardest work), respite/day care of disabled DC who live with their families (usually dealt with by a different department) and more.

Some local authorities are better than others about how supportive they are of you. We didn't have any problems with lack of support, but that's because we were fairly demanding and tough with social services when we needed to be.

I highly recommend fostering - but at the same time I acknowledge that it is incredibly hard emotionally at times, and there is a lot that the government need to do to improve the situation for children in care.

Totally agree with Lymond re possible effects of fostering with minded children. I don't foster but have been asked a couple of times to consider it, however I'm not 100% sure how our DD would take to it, having minded children 6 days a week and foster children overnight etc, I think it may be a bit much for her atm, perhaps when she is a little older.

WRT your question, I know a foster carer who decided to cm as well, then packed cm in as she reckons the paperwork was a joke, she just fosters now. I also know a cm who fostered in tandem, again she gave up minding after a while again paperwork / money etc. I'm sure it can be possible to do both although I feel their would be certain conflicts between the two. For ex I have minded fostered children and as Lymond said some sadly have had a very difficult and often undescribable past history, on a couple of occasions disclosures have been made in front of minded children or the way they play / behaviour is noticibly different. These children need so much care and attention and very often SS will turn the schedule upside down for supervision etc so I would think that in itself would be a major issue for CM's.

Thank you so much for your advice much appreciated.

Something for me to think about!!

MJ

We used to foster before and for a while during childminding. We had a difficult teenager who put our DD at risk (and the minding business), so we put it on hold for a while (quite a long while so far).

I forgot to add that SS may be interested in using you as a foster carer, and, in the daytime, as a childminder for foster kids. Just a thought.

Please don't be scared off of looking into it further! Our country really needs more foster carers.

Should say ... we will probably foster again one day, because we had some great kids to help out.

Excuse me asking what type of questions do they ask you?

I know I am getting experience with children by childminding.

I really prefer the one to one attention rather than dealing with lots of kids.

I would prefer to care for a little girl as I have three boys already and one girl.

I really believe I coul make a difference as I could offer the little one stability.

Look forward to your replies.

MJ

They interviewed us for at least 40 hours over two years. They asked every question you could imagine about our childhoods/our past relationships/our sex life. They do unscheduled inspections six monthly and they even come into your bedroom. They interviewed my ex-husband.

It's not for the faint hearted but if you're an open and honest person then you shouldn't have any problems.

Wow

LaurieFairyCake how long have you been fostering?

MJ

We weren't asked anything about our sex lives! Or past relationships. Not much about childhoods -just a basic bio of our parents & siblings and who was alive now and who passed on etc...

They asked about our children, how we get on with our families, why we want to foster, our jobs, our religion. They were clearly assessing our relationship, but only asked things like how long we'd been married.

Our main concern was that we'd heard that some local authorities can be biased against having Christians (as we are) as foster carers. We'd heard that they assume you'll be against homosexuality and things. Nothing like that was raised at all, and they said it would be fine for us to take foster DC along to church with us, unless they were actively another religion.

The difficult parts were when they discussed things with us like what proportion of foster DC (Or "looked-after children" as they call them) have previously experienced sexual abuse, and how we would deal with that.

Our experience was that they were biting our hands off for us to foster, and we had a lot less professional or personal experience of DC than you!

We had to supply several personal references - people who had DC and knew how we dealt with their DC, who had known us for a long time.

If they'd asked us about sex life we'd have stopped the whole process! We were happy to volunteer the information that we were in a wholly monogamous, committed, marriage, right from the start, perhaps that's why they didn't.

Just to add we were assessed over two months, and then after a four month wait were approved. Very different from LaurieFairyCake's experience. This was in 2005 btw.
Our home was assessed, but this meant them having a quick look in each room; not going through drawers or anything!

We'd heard that they interview ex-partners if you have DC with them, but not otherwise.

All this may depend on which local authority you're in, I guess. Or even on which supervising social worker you get. (Ours was a bit wet, but very sweet and friendly.)

We fostered through our local authority, but others foster through private companies who (I've heard) often pay more money and give more support. I think the more troubled DC can go to agencies though.

It definitely depends on what local authority you are in. Like lymond we are in a monogomous relaitonship (dh is a local preacher and we are Christians). However both of us came from difficult childhoods and mine was abusive so they were very thorough.

2 month assessment - ours took two years. We were approved after Lymond and the Victoria Climbie stuff had a huge impact on their processes during our assessment.

Its amazing I too am a Christian.

I would come under Hertfordshire so I am not sure what their process would be like.

I actually have 4 kids of my own and I am childminding five, so i am getting the experience with children.

Thanks for your advice.

I am a Christian and they weren't worried about that at all! However, we did have in depth talks about our childhoods and our relationships with our parents and siblings.

This is a very interesting conversation. I too am a childminder and am interested in becoming a fosterer. However my children are 7years and 4 months so I think i'd be counted out for now with my son being so young.
Do you HAVE to have a spare room?

Most fostering org require you to have a spare room if the child you foster is over 12 months, I believe.

I have put it on hold at present as things are busy with us at present.

What age are you interested in?

Hi, I am currently a Childminder but am very interested in fostering.

Could i give up being a childminder to do this?? and how would you go about it??

Any help would be great x

I have been a foster carer for 8 years. The assessment is very in depth. The SW will discuss everything about your childhood, past and current relationships, extended family and friendships . The only aspect of our sex life that was talked about was what contraception we used.
We had to take a years break from fostering a few years ago as we were adopting one of our foster children. The LA agreed that during our break I could childmind so we still had an income coming in. I did the courses but decided not to go ahead as the paperwork and Ofsted requirements requirements were ridiculous.
Our LA wont allow childminding alongside fostering. It is thought that a childminding environment doesn't give a fc the stability and routine they often need. I have two birth dc plus our adopted dd. Fostering has only ever been positive for them.

I inquired at the end of last year with a few agencies if I would be eligible to foster as well as childminding and was told that no, they discounted my application from the very beginning on that basis.

So if I really want to do this how do stop being a childminder?? I havnt actually got any childminding children at the mo anyway. But I have got two children myself

Hi Intersting to see this post. WHen I started reading I realise I started it last year

We have put fostering on hold. Been childminding for three years now. Got 7 in total plus four of my own. Never a dull moment

I've just been on a 2 week course to start the fostering process.

In my local authority a child under 2 would share a room with the f/c which is the age I'd be interested in fostering at this stage.

When I first made enquiries ss weren't overly enthusiastic about me being a cm aswell but certainly didn't say no.

I was a bit concerned about how my mindees parents would feel about me looking after a foster child but I am fairly confident that my current sets of parents would be very supportive. I am still deciding whether I want to go ahead but will discuss with all parents before I go any further.

I wouldn't be able to stop being a cm to be a f/c as I am single so my income is the only one and I couldn't afford not to work.

When I did it (years ago) both the minding and fostering were regulated by the local authority, so they had control over my allowed numbers. If you have 3 children under 5 minding, then they could only send older foster children. The numbers would be harder to juggle these days I think.

You could maybe do weekend respite care?

I would have thought childminders would make great foster parents.