You may have considered fostering a child but have you considered what type of fostering you would like to specialise in? There are several different types to choose from, so read this guide to help you understand them and decide which type is best for you and your family.
Emergency
Emergency fostering can be incredibly short notice so you will need to be prepared to take in a child immediately. This will suit you if you are highly organised and your lifestyle allows you to drop everything at short notice for the needs of a child. Emergency foster care is usually a short-term solution for something that happens unexpectedly. Longer-term plans can then be considered.
Short-Term
Short-term can be anything from a night or two up to a couple of years. Often the child will have time to settle down in your care and a routine can be established. Your foster child may be returned to their family, or a longer-term solution can be arranged.
Short-term fostering is one of the most common types of foster care and it is often the first type that springs to mind when considering the subject. The foster care agency you sign up with will be looking for short-term foster carers as well as other types.
Long-Term
Long-term foster care will require a longer commitment from you and your family so you should consider carefully if you want to specialise in this type as you could have your foster child living with you for several years. Long-term foster children will be unable to return to their birth families for a number of reasons, but they may keep in touch with them. You will need to be sympathetic and diplomatic in dealing with the family and long-term social worker involvement.
Adoption
In some cases, long-term foster carers may be able to adopt their foster child. This can happen if a child is unable to return to their birth family permanently. Adoption is considered to be the best solution for foster children in approximately 5% of cases.
Foster care is often a stepping stone to adoption as the authorities can place a child in foster care while they are going through the lengthy court process of allowing the foster family to adopt the child. This works well as it means that the child can get to know their new family and feel comfortable and secure with them before the adoption takes place.
Shared Care
This means that you will share the care of a child with another foster family or the child’s birth family. You will see your foster child regularly, possibly for a few hours or an overnight stay. This means that the child’s birth or foster family can have a break. However, this arrangement can stay in place for months or even years so it isn’t necessarily short-term fostering.
These are the main types of foster care in the UK. You can choose to specialise in one of these or leave yourself open to offer foster care on a case-by-case basis.
