Fostering isn’t easy, and it isn’t for everyone. Fostering a child or young person will change your life as well as theirs. But if you join Community Foster Care we’ll be with you every step of the way.

How to become a foster carer

The first step is to get in touch and let us know that you’re interested in becoming a foster carer.  We’re very happy to answer questions, there’s no pressure or obligation at this stage.

Successful fostering depends on trust, open communication and ongoing support. We want to get to know you, and to help you learn all about us and how we work. Our process is designed to make sure we understand each other.

We’ll ask you about:

• where you live

• who you live with

• your family circumstances

• any work experience you have

• what parenting or childcare experience you have.

We want you to ask us questions too. You can ask us anything, even if you’re not sure it’s relevant.

You may want to know more about what you will be paid and how your benefits might be affected, how fostering is different from adoption, how the assessment process works, and what support will be available for you.

You might want to know more about our values as an organisation and how we work, or how to get to our office, or the best way to contact us.

Home visit

If everyone’s happy to continue, we will arrange a home visit. A qualified social worker will visit you at home to learn more about your home environment, and to discuss your interest in fostering in more depth.

We’ll explain the full process involved in becoming a foster carer in detail, and you’ll have another chance to ask questions.

During the visit you can tell us why you want to become a foster carer and find out more about Community Foster Care and what makes fostering for a charity like us so special.

Fostering assessment stage

If our first conversation and the home visit have gone well, we will invite you to fill out an application form. Once we’ve got your completed form the formal fostering assessment period will begin.

We will work with you to build up an in-depth understanding of you and your household. We’ll talk to you in detail about your experiences and significant events in your life, your values, and your goals as a foster carer and in other areas.

Skills to Foster training

During the assessment stage you will attend a training course called Skills to Foster.

The Skills to Foster or Fostering Preparation training course cover key aspects of fostering, such as:

• the legal aspects of care

• what the children and young people placed with you may be experiencing

• being safe

• caring for someone else’s child.

The course is essential preparation for fostering. It’s also a chance for you to get to know some other prospective foster carers, meet other people working in the world of foster care, and learn more about us.

Fostering panel

At the end of the assessment period the Community Foster Care staff member who is assessing you will write a report and submit it to a panel of experts.

The panel will discuss whether you are well suited to being a foster carer and then make a recommendation to the fostering service about whether you should be approved to start fostering.

How long does it take to become a foster carer?

Typically it will take about eight months to be approved as a foster carer. That might seem like a long time, but it’s important that we have time to learn about each other, for you to learn about fostering, and for you to be fully prepared to become a foster carer.