Long term fostering
To give a home to a child or young person where they will live and grow for several years if they cannot return to the care of their own families. You can play a crucial role in providing this child a home for many years, usually until the child becomes ready for adult life.
How does a long term foster placement work?
For a foster child staying with you long term a foster carer makes the child or young person a fully integrated member of their family and provides a home for them to grow and develop to adulthood. Foster carers with children living with them long-term can make a real difference to the life of a child in care.
Often a Care Order has been made by the Court, meaning that the local authority will be legally responsible for the child, as they have resumed ‘parental responsibility’ through the court process.
Children coming into a long term fostering placement need a stable, solid and loving home environment where they can feel truly settled and at ease.
What is the difference between adoption and long term fostering?
Long term fostering allows a child or young person to maintain contact with their birth family if it is felt to be in their best interest. This may be only limited contact, but it maintains a link with the child’s parents which may be important to them and their identity. Adoption is a more permanent arrangement and is legally binding, giving the adoptive parents exclusive parental rights to the child.
The matching process
Your supervising social worker will look at your abilities and compare them closely with the needs of children who are awaiting long term foster families. If there is a child who appears to be a good match for what you and your family can offer, they will inform you and share all relevant information so that you can make the right decision. You will then meet the child concerned to develop a connection and ensure it would be the best home for them to benefit everyone involved.