How to become a foster carer
Maybe you enjoy being around children, want to give
a young person a fresh start in life or simply want a new,
challenging and rewarding career.
100% of our foster carers are satisfied in their role, with 85%
saying they are more satisfied that there previous job. From
drivers to café workers to engineers, we help all sort of people
become foster carers, supporting them to transform the lives of the
most vulnerable and neglected children and young people.
You can be a foster carer if you genuinely like and want
to care for children or young people and you have:
- Time: our carers give their full time
attention to the children and young people staying with them
- A spare bedroom in your home: we expect each
foster child to have their own bedroom, though there may be some
occasions where siblings can share a bedroom depending on age and
gender
- Energy, resilience and understanding: caring
for children and young people sometimes requires all your
resources
- Experience of working with or caring for children or
young people: although you do not have to already be a
parent, we expect you to have cared for children or young people
through volunteering or employment
There is a thorough process to determine who can foster
with Action for Children. The steps are:
- Enquiry/initial information: a social worker
contacts you to answer your questions
- Information evening: we invite you to attend
an information evening
- Initial home visit: a social worker visits you
and your family to talk about what kind of fostering care would
suit you
- Application form and references: you need to
fill in a detailed application form about yourself and the members
of your household; we check police and health records, employment
and personal references
- Preparation training group: you attend a
preparation course to learn more about fostering
- Assessment process: a social worker visits you
several times and puts together a home assessment report; based on
this report, a foster care panel makes a recommendation about
you
- Approval process: a senior manager at Action
for Children approves you as a foster carer
- You become a foster carer and part of the
Action for Children team!
The application process takes about six months. Once you are
approved as a carer, we provide continuous training throughout your
time as an Action for Children foster carer. The assessment process
and training make sure that the children we place with you will be
safe and well looked after, and that you are completely comfortable
with being a foster carer.
Contact us
Do something life changing.
Foster.
For a free information pack or more information on fostering
our simple, online contact form., call 0845 200
5162 or read our fostering report.