Hi! Newbie with a couple of questions

[Linzimin]

Hello everyone,

Me and my Husband are both very interested in Fostering. We have a son who is 2 and I am currently pregnant.
We actually had a chat with SW from out LA when our son was around 1 yr old, they asked us if we were planning on having any more children of our own to which we replied yes. They then suggested we waited till our own family was complete and get back in touch with them.
Now that I am pregnant with our second and final child I am thinking about fostering again. It is something which I passionately want to do, and have done for as long as I can remember.
I have read a few posts which stated that the LA prefer there to be a 2 year age gap between your own children and your foster child. Is this written in stone or are they a little more flexible with this rule?
Also do the foster children have to be 2 years younger than your own or can they be older?

Thank you,

Linzimin

Foster children can be any age BUT have to be able to get enough attention. I doubt they would consider you with a toddler & a baby but would tell you to wait a couple of years.

It would also depend on what age group you were considering and whether you were looking at long or short term fostering.

Hi Linzimin,

We were told that they would prefer 2 years younger.

I would be surprised if they didn't ask you to wait - we originally were told to wait for a year - we did appeal this and they did then allow us to proceed - and our youngest was 2.5 at the time (we also had a 5 and 6.5 year old)

Your best bet would be to recontact your LA and ask what their policies are and what time frame would they consider. It could be they are happy to complete your assessment and then just wait to go to panel once they are confident that it is in your and your children's best interests

good luck with it - and I hope you get to do what you want to do :)

Thank you for the replies.

All the comments make sense. I think maybe I just need to be patient, and hang on a couple of years. I know my feelings are'nt going to change, and we would be in a better position as a family to offer a child a loving and settled home when our own children are a little older.

I think i'm just a little too keen.

Thank you again.

It is always so hard when your head is telling you one thing and your heart is telling you another.

Being keen isn't a bad thing tho :)

good luck with the new baby :)