Types of Placement (including changes e.g. Adoption)

PLEASE ADD OR DELETE TYPES OF FOSTERING AS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR SERVICE


Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Types of Fostering
  3. How Many Children can I Foster
  4. Exemptions
  5. What If I want to Adopt my Foster Child


1. Introduction

There are many different types of placements and some fostering agencies may not offer the full range. If you are considering adopting your foster child please see below.


2. Types of Fostering

Short-term Fostering:
Short-term carers provide temporary care for a child/young people, who are unable to live with their families. The placement can last from a few days or weeks, months or longer. The placement is temporary while plans are made and carried out. Regular contact with significant people such as birth family is an important part of short-term fostering.

Long-term Fostering:
Long-term carers offer permanent homes where adoption is not suitable for a child/young person.  A long term foster child is likely to continue living with foster carers whilst in full time education and they will be expected to support the child with their living arrangements whether they continue to live with the carers or independently.

Short Breaks Scheme for Disabled Children:
These carers provide respite care to children with disabilities living with their own families.

Respite Care:
Respite carers provide short breaks to families to help maintain a child or young person in his or her own family to relieve stress and a more serious breakdown. These can be one-off or regular breaks. Respite carers also offer support to other foster carers. Whilst we are aware that children and young people are unlikely to benefit from respite care within their foster placement we are also aware that foster carers do sometimes need this support to ensure placements continue to succeed for all concerned. This is different from supporting other carers informally which is sometimes called respite.

Connected Carers:
These carers provide placements for a child/young people who cannot live with their birth parents but can live within their extended family network, or a friend of the family. These placements help to provide continuity of care, family, school and friendships, networks and keep the child/young person’s cultural and individual identity.

Specialist Fostering:
Specialist fostering is for young people who are going through difficulties and have a high level of need that cannot be met within general fostering.

Mother and Baby Fostering:
For parents and their baby who are in need of support and assessment of their parenting skills.

Emergency Care:
Emergency carers provide time-limited placements for a child/young people in emergencies, these placements usually happen out of office hours.

Private Fostering:
Private fostering is when a child/young person under 16 (or if disabled 18) is cared for, for more than 28 days by an adult who is not a relative and the arrangement has been made between the carer and the parent.

Sibling Groups:
Where brothers and sisters are placed together.

Bridging:
This forms part of a long term placement for a child/young person and can sometimes be for two years in duration.  Carers work with the child/young person and their families towards reunification or prepare the child/young person for joining adoptive or long term/permanent fostering families or for moving to semi-independence.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children:
Foster carers who provide placements for a child/young person seeking sanctuary and asylum from their own country of origin.


3. How Many Children can I Foster

On approval the fostering service will decide on how many children you are approved for, what age, sex and category of approval. There are times, however, when the fostering service may ask you to take a child/young person outside your approval range if it is felt this would be way to meet the child’s needs.

When this happens the fostering service can vary your approval for a short time either to allow for longer term plans to be made or for a review of your approval as a foster carer to be done so that your approval status can be changed in order to accommodate the child for a longer period.


4. Exemptions

The 'usual fostering limit' is three, so nobody may foster more than three children unless:

  • The foster children are all siblings (then there is no upper limit), or
  • The local authority within whose area the foster carer lives exempts the carer from the usual fostering limit in relation to specific placements.

In considering whether to exempt a person from the usual fostering limit, the local authority must consider:

  • The number of children whom the person proposes to foster.
  • The arrangements which the person proposes for the care and accommodation of the fostered children.
  • The intended and likely relationship between the person and the fostered children.
  • The period of time for which he/she proposes to foster the children; and
  • Whether the welfare of the fostered children (and any other children who are or will be living in the accommodation) will be safeguarded and protected.


5. What If I want to Adopt my Foster Child

Adopting a child is very different to fostering. This is about making a forever commitment to the child so this needs to be considered carefully. The most important thing is that there is a Permanence Plan for the child to be adopted and if this is the case and you would like to find out more then speak to your Supervising Social Worker.

If the decision is to proceed, an assessment will be done focusing on the potential of you as a prospective adopter and whether this will be in the long-term interests of the child. You will receive the same assessment, preparation and training as prospective adopters.

Long-term fostering may be another option. It has proved to be useful for older children who retain strong links with their birth families and do not need the formality of adoption and where you may value the continued involvement of the local authority.

Long-term fostering has the following advantages:

  • The local authority retains a role in negotiating between you and the birth family over issues such as contact.
  • There is continuing social work support to the child and your family in a placement that is regularly reviewed to ensure that the child's needs are met.
  • It maintains legal links to the birth family that can still play a part in the decision making for the child.

Long-term fostering has the following disadvantages:

  • Lack of Parental Responsibility for you.
  • Continuing social work involvement.
  • Regular Looked After Reviews, which may be seen as unhelpful to the placement.
  • Stigma attached to the child due to being in care.
  • The child is not a legal member of the family. If difficulties arise there may be less willingness to persevere and seek resolution.
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