Parent and baby placements

[Justdontknowwhattothink]

Does anybody do Parent and child placements, or mother and baby?
what’s it like? Any tips . Thinking about doing this as a new challenge have been fostering for 10 years +

No but I've made enquiries about doing so. Been told typically they arrive pregnant and you support them to around 6 months - a year depending on age of the mum (if really young could be longer) but we also indicated we could support a pregnant young woman with learning difficulties (the programme is up to 24) so try to help them keep their baby

I know another carer who does it. She’s been fostering for years.
It’s worked out great for her as she likes the breaks when they leave. It enables her to have a few months for family time.
She said it’s quite full on though, lots of meetings and reports.
She’s had mum, dad and baby too so it can be very varied.
One mum left and baby stayed for a while.
I would love to do it but with with the child we have we cannot have any other placements.
If I’m still upto fostering in the future it’s something I’d love to do

Our local authority has specifically approved parents and child carers. We were part of this team for several years and loved it. We had one or two parent placements with one or children. New born babies up to age four.

We loved it. It was challenging, extremely interesting and we felt an integral part of a professional team. It felt right to not be separating families without giving them a good chance and I would encourage any one interested to explore it further

Downsides were it really is 24/7. When the mum is up several times a night breastfeeding then you're up with her. Then all day you are observing and making judgements calls on whether or not to intervene. There is a very high level of recording required as (at least for us) our recording would be used in court.

We eventually returned to mainstream fostering because we needed to have some time for us as a family.

Just to add in all the years we did it only one was a teenage mum. The majority were in their thirties, dads even older.

Thanks so much, i have lots of thinking to do

My ds's ex girlfriend is going into this type of arrangement. The baby is due in 9 days time. Will we as grandparents we able to visit the child?

It is very intense and you can not leave the mother with baby and needs to be supervised at all times. I enjoyed this but it can be a very emotional piece of work and i wont lie being part of this process stayed with me emotionally a long time.

@Exbrummie1 have you tried posting in the legal section to see what your rights are? You usually get some really good advice in there

Thanks will do.

In my local authority, parent and child fostering is for three months. During that time, the foster carer (who must not work outside the home) gathers evidence of parenting skills to take to court.

It’s not really about helping the parent with parenting skills.

I have done this for some time and love it! The placements generally arrive after baby is born as the LA cannot get a care order until then. I have never had a placement stay only 12 weeks as the assessments take a long time and they cannot start until 6 weeks post partum. They are intense and stressful and need a lot of recording (hours per day!) and you may well have to give evidence in court.