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Types of Fostering
Types of Fostering
When a child comes into Local Authority care, this is called becoming a ‘Child in Care.’ It is not always clear how long a child will need to be ‘in Care’ when they are first placed with a foster carer but there are several types of fostering. Kingston Council does not ask carers to choose which type of fostering they would like to do. Foster Carers and social workers make decisions on each individual child and their situation. The different types of fostering are explained below.
Emergency
This is usually when a carer is given just a few hours notice that a child is in urgent need of somewhere to stay.
A child may have been removed from their family home as they were at risk of being harmed or had been neglected. A parent may have been arrested or suddenly had to go to hospital.
Emergency placements may last as little as one night and are usually a stop-gap until another plan has been made or a relative has come forward to help.
Planned Task Centred Fostering
This is when social workers have some advanced notice that a child will need to be ‘looked after.’ Carers are normally given an approximate idea of how many weeks or months a child will need to be fostered.
A parent may have a problem with drug abuse or alcohol and have a rehabilitation period, after which the child may be safe to go home. A child may need to be fostered whilst their parent serves a prison sentence or recovers from a mental breakdown. A carer may be paid a retaining fee around the time a baby is due to be born. Even newborn babies who are certain to be adopted will be looked after by a foster carer whilst the right family is found and paperwork dealt with.
Long Term
This is usually when the court has made a decision that a child cannot go back to live with their birth parents and needs to have a new permanent home. Adoption is probably not possible as a child may still have regular contact with family members or may be considered to be too old to adapt to having a new Mum or Dad.
One child – or often brothers and sisters – will stay with the same foster family until adulthood. The carers will be paid a weekly fee but they will not be able to make legally-binding decisions about the child’s future, as an adoptive parent would. These children are still officially 'in care' and have a social worker.
Short Breaks
This is usually weekend or holiday care for children whose birth parents need temporary relief from parenting. This may be because the child has physical or learning disabilities, or because the parent themselves is suffering from depression, exhaustion or other difficulties. Short breaks carers can give a child valuable experiences and take them to places which birth parents may not be able to manage. These breaks can also be to give another foster carer temporary relief if they have been looking after a child for a long period of time.
Fostering Babies
Babies come into local authority care for a variety of reasons. The child’s parents may have a serious drug or alcohol addiction. They may have been removed from the family home as they were at risk of being harmed. The baby’s parents may temporarily not be able to cope. Occasionally mothers may want their baby to be adopted and the baby is looked after by a foster carer until a decision has been made.
Fostering a baby is not a short-cut to adoption, as some babies will go home to live with their families when it is safe to do so. Those who are adopted will usually be matched with a family who have been approved as adoptive parents and live some distance from Kingston upon Thames where they can start a new life.
Many children will continue to have contact with their birth family, whilst reports are being written and before the court makes a decision on what would be the best plan for their future.
Apart from basic care of a young child, carers may need to take them to hospital or medical specialists for check-ups. Many ‘in care’ babies have been put at risk, either during pregnancy or after they were born and their development may be delayed.