WHAT IS FOSTERING?

Fostering involves families looking after children who cannot live with their own families due to a range of reasons. The child or young person could have been abused, his/her parents could be sick or the child could simply be orphaned.

These children, sometimes referred to as ‘looked after’ children, may need to live with foster carers for a few days or a few weeks or for the whole of their childhood. They are of all ages and have a number of different needs. Children from black, ethnic minority and Muslim backgrounds often find it most difficult to find suitable homes. It is for this reason that Foster Care Link needs a wide variety of foster carers, young and old, with and without children, single carers and married couples from a wide range of different cultures and backgrounds.

Foster care is different from adoption in that foster carers do not have parental responsibility for their foster child in most cases. Contact with the birth family is often very important for a foster child. 

Whilst a child is living with foster carers Foster Care Link pays a generous allowance; this includes the expenses of a child's care as well as a fee for the carer. Extra financial support is also available. Training and support is provided to foster carers at all stages.

We need foster carers from all walks of life:

Whether you are…

• working or unemployed,
• with your own children or none at all,
• male or female, from any race or culture,
• home owner or tenant - so long as you have a spare room and a long term tenancy,
• any age whether you’re in your 20s or your 60s,
• for short, medium or long term fostering,
• for individual children and for brothers and sisters

Foster Care Link recognises that being a foster carer is a demanding task, it therefore pays competitive allowances to its foster carers. The allowances are based on the age of the child cared for and include a 'costs' and 'reward' element, they are set approximately as follows (April 2009 to March 2010 rates, subject to increase April 2010):

Children aged 0-11 years old:            £258-86 per week 

Children aged 12-18 years old:          £337-82 per week

We urgently need more carers that can look after boys aged 12-18, CLICK HERE for more information (PDF document), also see the 'applying to foster' page.

There are also additional one-off allowances that foster carers can claim. This includes a clothing allowance of £200 if the child does not have sufficient clothing, and a festival allowance of £50 for religious holidays amongst others. Foster Carers with Foster Care Link also receive holiday payments for every 6 months of successful placement. 

Full details are provided once carers have been approved.

You must...  

• like children and be determined to put children’s needs first
• be willing and able to look after a child when they can’t stay with their own family
• have time to listen, plus patience, tolerance, understanding and a real drive to keep the child happy
• be willing to work as part of a team with Foster Care Link staff, social work staff, families, teachers and doctors
• be committed to equal opportunities regardless of disability, race or beliefs
• have a flexible and open-minded attutude

Because you will be…   

• taking on a big responsibility, caring for someone else’s children - maybe for a few days, weeks, months or even years;
• in-charge for their health, welfare and education;
• caring for children who may have had traumatic experiences - for instance, neglect; physical, sexual or emotional abuse;
• sometimes dealing with difficult, disruptive and demanding behaviour;
• working with the child’s family and encouraging regular contact with them;
• prepared for the child to go back to their own family when the time comes.

Below you can download a leaflet version of this webpage in PDF format.

_____________________________________________________

HOME I STAFF & MANAGEMENT I WHAT IS FOSTERING? I TYPES OF FOSTERING I ISLAM AND FOSTERING

ASSOC OF MUSLIM FOSTERING I APPLYING TO FOSTER I DOWNLOADS I USEFUL LINKS

Copyright (C) Foster Care Link, 159B Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0NY

Tel: 020 7923 0330, Fax: 020 7923 1754, Email: admin@fostercarelink.com