Advice and information please

[browniesandcake]

Please can you help me understand the different routes of fostering I can explore? I would love to foster, I am a nanny and I am 23 years old with a 2 bed home in the countryside. Thanks so much in advance

[missedtherainbow]

Contact your LA (local authority) ours hold regular question and information events online or there will be a number you can ring and ask for a call back where someone will talk you through the process after asking some basic questions to make sure you would be viable.
The next step is usually a home visit by an assessor who will want to look round your home and ask some more questions before the assessment and training period begins.

[missedtherainbow]

A lot will depend on who you decide to go with LA or IFA (independent fostering agency) you can do short term (can be up to 2 years), long term or respite. Again it will depend on the need in your area.
The training/assessment process can take anything from 4months to a year.

[Justkeeppedaling]

The approval process is a long hard slog which puts a lot of people off us.
At your age, they will ask you about any friends, particularly male friends you have in the house, how you'll work and also foster at the same time, and what would happen if you have your own children, with or without a partner.

[f0stercarer]

i have recycled this from a previous reply i made to a similar enquiry.

My advice would be

1 Contact your Local authority and enquire about fostering.
2 Contact a couple of agencies and enquire about fostering.

There are pros and cons of both. You will see from replies you will get that some people are anti agency and others despair at LAs.

The reality is that it will all depend. Some LAs will be brilliant and others awful. Similarly with agencies.

My LA were in special measures two ofsted inspections in a row and were clearly a basket case. Nevertheless I made enquiries with them and they just never got back to me despite me chasing them. Clearly this was not an organisation to be a part of - at least at that time.

The other thing that influenced me was our location on the edge of a LA. This meant that if registered with a LA my placements could be a very long way from me but I couldnt be considered for a child a mile away across the LA border. With an agency I had a choice.

I have had several multiple sibling placements ironically one set of three from my LA ! who couldnt find foster carers from their own resources. Another set of three was from Hampshire (small world) and a set of four siblings from Haringey. We have also been considered for placements over a hundred miles away (sometimes children need to be placed at a distance for reasons of safety). The wider choice available through an agency has allowed us to select placements that we feel has suited our home and extended family.

It is generally acknowledged that the workload of your supervising social worker (ssw) is greater with a LA than with an agency and the turnover of staff is usually greater. I felt that at an early stage while we were newbies that we would benefit from having more time with our support network.

The big question that you need to ask is whether you will have access to the history of the placements before accepting them. Some agencies and LA take the attitude that they know best and you dont need to know everything. I was lucky in that the agency I chose provided us with the full referral paperwork for any placement and gave us complete freedom to accept or decline that placement. In the vast majority we declined because we did not feel it was a good match and therefore the placement would inevitably break down. I have spoken to many other f/c who are forced to accept placements often clearly unsuitable or if they turn them down are then punished by not being offerred further placements for many months. Your priority is your own child and family and you need to be sure anyone else you let in to your home is compatible. I have heard some truly terrible stories from f/carers both LA and agency.

Money is a taboo subject in fostering circles. Remuneration can differ enormously and there is always a fear during the application stage of asking what the pay is. This is ridiculous. You obviously need to know how much will be coming in so that you can budget. No-one expects social workers or paediatric drs to work for peanuts so why should a foster carer. Ask the question. How much will they pay you per day per child. What additional payments for birthdays/xmas,summer hols and how much holiday will you be given and is it paid or unpaid. If they ask why you are asking say that a foster carer said these were questions that should be asked (because they should !).

What do I wish I had known that I know now ? Well how about that I was entitled to paid holiday each year at my agency. They didnt tell me and I didnt claim it for two years and missed out on those two years. Thats 6k lost forever. Another f/c told me about it and I have just been granted it in year 3 !

Good luck with your journey and I hope it works out for all.

[Cassimin]

You didn’t say but are you in a relationship or planning to be in one.
Be aware that anyone that you are in a relationship will need to be checked out by the fostering agency.
One of the carers I knew left as our agency were not very supportive of her having a new relationship as they were concerned about the impact this may have on the children in her care.

[Pepperp]

Hi we are applying to do short stay /respite fostering. My question is we sometimes have our elderly parents stay- can we be unavailable to foster at these times?

[f0stercarer]

yes no problem in being unavailable if you dont have a placement at the time.

[Pepperp]

That is good to know as I’ve been worried this could stop the application- thank you

[ZoeKnowsFostering]

I work for an smaller agency as a social worker and I would say that finding a partner when you are ready and having your own children would not stop you from fostering.

Your agency would just need to know about that person in advance and ask that they be introduced slowly to any children you have living with you. If it is starting to get a little more serious they could be approved as a back up carer to with a DBS check and initial assessment and they could access training through the agency. If you decide to live together then after a while they should consider being a foster carer. Not all agencies say they have to be approved as a carer but most will as they will no doubt will be helping to parent the child etc.

Best wishes for your fostering journey.

[Cassimin]

ZoeKnowsFostering
agree with all you say but some new partners may be put off by the very intrusive path it takes to become a foster carer. The form f goes into a lot and can be very emotional for some people.
if the carer has a child with them long term this could seriously affect the future of all involved.
While none of us know what the future brings I would recommend that you are in a place where your life probably isn’t going to involve any new relationships or major changes before you consider fostering.
Our agency certainly wouldn’t let you live with someone without a form f being completed and in my opinion this is completely valid.