What Is Fostering?

Fostering is looking after someone else’s child in your own home providing them with a family environment when they are unable to have this with their birth parents.

There are numerous reasons why fostering needs to happen, examples are; illness in the family, relationship difficulties, family breakdowns, or even more serious instances like abuse or neglect where the childs welfare is threatened.

Fostering differs from adoption, in that adoption ends all the Childs legal relationship with the natural family, whereas looked after children in a fostering environment remain the legal responsibility of the local authority and/ or their birth parents

Foster carers provide a safe, secure, stable and nurturing environment for the child/young person; it can last for days, months or even, sometimes, years. Foster carers work with the child/young person’s family and the social services with the aim that most of these looked after children return home to their families.

Other children may be fostered long-term, adopted, go to live in residential care or receive help and support to live independently.