Fostering Unaccompanied / Asylum Seeking Children
Children who arrive in the UK without their parents or carers usually go into the care of their nearest public authority and will often live with approved foster carers when there is no suitable family member or guardian to care for them.
There are many reasons why a child or young person may feel that they are no longer safe in their home country. War, oppression and civil unrest can create situations in which many children may fear for their lives.
Asylum-seeking children may have experienced persecution for their beliefs, or because of their ethnic or social group. Some may have seen adults they loved murdered, beaten, tortured or raped; others may have had members of their family ‘disappear’ with no warning or explanation. Some may have come from a country where they would have been forced to fight as a child soldier if they remained.
What is involved in fostering unaccompanied and asylum-seeking children?
This is a different type of foster care. The child may have come from a home that was safe and secure within itself while being in a very hostile world where no members of the family were secure.
In reality, the unaccompanied children and young people that enter the country seeking asylum tend to be mostly boys aged between 15 and 17 (approximately 75%). They arrive here following traumatised journeys but often with a high level of independence and a reliance on the groups and friends they have formed during their experiences. The foster carer will need the resilience to deal with the differences of ethnicity, language, culture and religion.
Alongside the task of caring for these children on a day-to-day basis, foster carers will also need to support them through the process of applying for permission to stay in the UK, and possibly to prepare for the return to their home country.
The foster carer will be fully supported by a dedicated social worker experienced in working with unaccompanied and asylum-seeking children. Foster carers looking after unaccompanied children will require support to offer them the stability and the help they need; Telford and Wrekin ensure that their carers are trained, equipped and supported to deal with the particular challenges of meeting the needs of unaccompanied children.
We encourage people who think they might have the skills, experience and willingness to look after a young person who has arrived in the UK unaccompanied to apply.
What are the impacts of fostering for USAC placements?
Many unaccompanied children seeking asylum will also have emotional, practical, language and cultural needs that their foster carers will have to consider. These children have often been victim of traumatic events and helping them can contribute to action against global injustices.
Apply here or get in touch to find out more information.