Is fostering a full-time job or could I continue to work as well?

[Sleepinyourofficeinstead]

Sorry if this is a stupid question - fostering is something I'm only tentatively beginning to consider for our future.

I currently work 2.5 days per week as a lawyer with a mix of nursery/grandparents caring for my 2 young DC. DH works long hours but just Mon-Fri usually.

Would I have to give up my job to foster or would I be able to have the foster children in childcare at the same times as my children on the days I work?

Thanks in advance.

Adoptive parent here.
I don't know the rules as such, but I would be amazed if you could plan to put foster children into child care. They wouldn't be emotionally stable enough, having been removed from birth family to go to 'random' childcare.
Plus you would need to be available for all the various meetings, wouldn't you?

Foster children especially when they first arrive require all of your attention. You will have lots of meetings and will be expected to change your arrangements to attend them.
Your children’s needs will come second to the needs of your foster child.
You will be expected to care for the child and not put them in the care of someone else.
If the child is in school you could work but it would need to be a flexible job as you may need to attend a meeting/ care for the child at a moments notice.

That's what I'm not sure about - I can't tell from the local council information page what the time/availability commitment is like on a day-to-day basis and whether it is expected that fostering is seen like a full-time job or not. (I appreciate the child lives with you so it's actually 24/7 like all parenting!)

I presume older children would be at school or nursery anyway so I could potentially try to work around those hours, but I just don't know.

I could cut my hours to 2 full days without too much difficulty because of the role I'm in, leaving me with 5 full days a week but maybe that's not enough.

Perhaps I just need to get in touch with the council to find out.

When my DM fostered (along time ago, 20 or so years) she was paid a retainer by the council instead of working. Back then the fostered child was supposed to be your full focus.

I think it’d be worth speaking to the council as well as considering the impact on your own children.

I used to work with a lot of fostered teenagers and the foster parents tended to do it full-time but some had as many as 3-4 in care. Generally, their own children had flown the nest already too.
This is just a hearsay, but I think some foster carers work very part time/flexible jobs.

Thanks for the replies. It's definitely something I'm interested in but I'd need to figure out if and how we could make it work. Lots of to think about.

DH & I both work FT (military and public sector respectively). We do mostly short term and respite but are currently into the second year of looking after two primary age children. We have had no issues with putting the children in breakfast and after school clubs as necessary. We do have to be available to attend meetings but they're not that frequent and usually only last for 2 hours (max).

To be frank, many LAs are desperate for carers, especially for older children so I can't see them turning you down just because you work.

I have friends in similar set up as previous poster, one military, the other works as school admin. They currently have a teen. I guess it will be down to the needs of the child placed with you. A very anxious/abused child I imagine SS would dictate no wrap around care.

Definitely get in touch with the council, but what foster kids need more than anything is attention and stability. In my mind, that would be being taken care of by their foster parents, and not sent to different care, even if it is with your children.

I’ve always wondered about this - I have always understood that you cannot really work when fostering. But what would you do for money when you don’t have a foster child?

I know lots of FCs who work, mostly part time.

Hey,
I've been thinking about fostering for a little while but have decided to put on hold until my two DC are older. I have however just qualified as a volunteer Independent Visitor for a young person in care; you get to take them out once a month and keep in contact in between. You get full training etc.
Good luck with whatever you decide

MadisonMontgomery Only one carer needs to be at home so if you are a couple one can work. You can also claim some benefits when you are a carer so that can help
I work a couple of hours a week, it’s very flexible but we have had our child for 9 years and we are very stable. My partner is also in a flexible job and I have 2 adult birth children at home.
The first few years there was a lot of training courses both carers were expected to attend so that eats into your time too.
If you have a long term placement that becomes more stable it is easier to do some work but if you have short term placements I imagine it would be impossible.

As far as I am aware they don't want you to work. My friend has a couple of long term placements. Two days a week she takes the boys to therapy and then another two days she takes them to see their mum. She has numerous meetings with social workers, schools, local authority, health departments, plus lots of paperwork and the daily school runs and activities etc.

... and training courses too!

I work in fostering and we have lots of situations where a carer might work a couple of days a week, and the child may stay to an after school activity, or the carers support network may step in. Obviously with very young children working alongside is very difficult but with school age children it is certainly possible.

The Local Authorities do rightly expect that the fostered child is your priority above any other work, and it would also depend on the needs of the particular children as to whether they could cope with being looked after by anybody other than yourself. We would never rule out any applicant because they had a part time job - its about how this could be worked around, and the matching when looking at possible children.