Caring Causes: FAQs About Foster Parenting

What is fostering?

Fostering is when a child or young person is cared for by a person or people who are not members of their birth family. In many cases the foster child lives with a foster carer on a full time basis, but the length of their stay will depend on their individual circumstances and needs. Fostering is far from easy, it can be stressful and challenging at times, but it can also be enormously fulfilling and rewarding.

Who can become a Foster parent?

Anyone who is capable of providing a caring and stable environment for children can potentially become a foster parent. You can be male, female, single or married, and with children or not. People from all kinds of social and religious backgrounds currently provide foster care, and there is no such thing as a typical ‘foster parent’. The most important qualities a foster parent can have are the enthusiasm and commitment to make a difference for the better. 

Foster children will have experienced a great deal of emotional stress so it’s very important that you can provide a loving and caring environment for them. To become a foster parent you will need to be at least 21 years of age and have the ability to provide a safe home environment. You do not need parenting experience, but experience of looking after children is necessary, and you must be willing to attend various training courses and work alongside your allocated support worker.

Do foster parents get paid?

Yes, foster parents are financially supported for any children they provide care for in their home. Foster parents are also entitled to additional benefits, if for example you are providing care for a child with learning difficulties. Some fostering agencies provide a competitive salary for carers, this is classed as self employment and you will need to register yourself as self employed with the tax office.

While many foster carers successfully hold down another job alongside their fostering responsibilities, this must fit around the needs of the foster child. Whilst fostering is extremely rewarding, it can also be hard work and there are a number of extra duties, training sessions and meetings to consider when becoming a foster parent. 

How is fostering different from adoption?

There are a number of differences between fostering and adoption, the main one being that with adoption you become a child’s legal parent on a permanent basis, while fostering is usually temporary until a child is able to return to his or her birth parents.

Adoption is when you become the legal parent of a child who cannot live with their birth parents or extended family.  Fostering means providing a caring home for someone else’s child and involves taking care of them for a couple of days or months, or sometimes until they are old enough to move out and look after themselves.

I have a job; can I still become a foster parent?

Yes, but you will need to ask yourself – are your working hours flexible enough to allow you to provide foster care? For example, unscheduled days off school and school holidays cannot usually be covered by play schemes, groups or with the help of family and friends, and you will also have occasional training sessions and meetings to attend.

You would need to think about your personal circumstances carefully if you wish to continue working, but as long as your job doesn’t impact the requirements of the fostering, it may be possible for you to continue working.  

Will there be contact with the child’s birth family?

Every now and again there will be contact with the child’s birth parents; this is dependent on the reasons why they have been placed into foster care. Some children will have siblings that are living with other foster carers if they are unable to be placed together.

For safety reasons, sometimes visits will be supervised or at a contact centre. Other situations may require you to host visits in your home. Any contact such as visits, phone calls and emails will be discussed individually between yourself and a social worker for each placement.

Author byline:

This is a guest post by David at Pathway Foster Care Agency, David is passionate about raising awareness on the subject of fostering.