Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I have to be married?
No, currently we have carers who are in long-term relationships and some who are single carers as well as those who are married.
Fostered children come from all sorts of family backgrounds, traditional families, where they have a father and mother figure, step-parent families and some children have been living with their grandparents or other members of their extended family. For this reason, our carers are representative of the community from which fostered children come.
What about my age?
We have some careers in their mid to late twenties and others who are in their sixties. Life experience is the important issue, so you are unlikely to be ready in your early twenties, although this is not impossible. At the other end of the scale, many carers who are retired have a lot to offer.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.
Do I have to own my home?
No, But you should be settled as we aim to reduce the instability as much as possible for a child who has had to move in with a new set of carers.
What are the ages of the children who need foster carers?
Children are fostered at all ages and from all backgrounds. Foster carers tend to specialise in particular age groups: broadly, ‘babies and toddlers’, ‘young children’ or ‘teenagers’, but there are no rules that you only do one or the other.
What support will I receive?
Every person who applies to become a foster carer is supported through
the training process by the training team who are available to answer
any questions and queries.
Once you become an approved foster carer you are given your own link-worker
who will work closely with you for as long as you continue to foster.
What is this ‘Assessment’?
The Assessment involves home visits by a social worker to find out as much as possible about you, your family and your home and family life. Whilst it is about finding out about you, it is also an opportunity to go into more depth about the kinds of situations you may come across when you are a foster carer. At the end of the visits which normally take between one and two months, a report is written by the social worker and presented to the fostering panel who make the decision to approve any new carer.
What is ‘Approval’?
This is the final part of the Assessment process and also the beginning of your foster carer career. A foster carer becomes approved when the report written by the supervising social worker is presented to the ‘fostering panel’ that approve it.
Once approved, you will become a fully fledged foster carer and it will not be long before you are approached to take a child who needs a temporary home. Approval entitles you to the full support of the fostering team as well as the weekly allowance which is paid for fostering children.
Foster carers will be reviewed annually to keep an eye on their progress as carers and also to identify any difficulties, support or training needs.
What training will I get?
The initial preparation course for foster carers that is undergone
prior to Approval (see above) covers much of the basic information that
you will need, such as, the types of behaviour you can expect to deal
with, who will work with you and who will support you, as well as your
role and what you should expect from others who work with the children
that you foster. You will gain a knowledge of social services and how
fostering fits into this.
However, there is no way that an introductory course can cover all the
issues which you will need to cover. Therefore the ’Looked After
Children Department’ runs many courses during the year and you
will on average attend a minimum of three courses.
©2011 Isle of Wight Council
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