Becoming a Foster Carer

Anyone can apply to be a foster carer, so long as they have the qualities needed to look after children who cannot live with their parents. There is no maximum age limit for being a foster carer.

You can be a foster carer...

• whether you have your own children or not
• if you are single, married or living with a partner
• if you are in or out of work
• whether you live in your own home or rent
• whatever your race, religion or sexuality

Applying to become a foster carer
If you are interested in becoming a foster carer, the first thing you should do is contact your local fostering service (either the social services department of your local council or an independent fostering agency), and arrange a meeting. They will explain what fostering involves and will help you decide whether you are right for fostering.

Once it has been decided you are suitable to become a foster carer, The Criminal Records Bureau will check that you have not committed an offence which would exclude you from fostering. You will also have a health check, to rule out any health problems.

A social worker will then help you fill in an application form, and you will be asked to attend a group preparation session with other people who are applying.

Finally, your application will be sent to an independent fostering panel, who will recommend whether or not you can become a foster carer. This can take up to six months.

Training and financial support for foster carers
If you become a foster carer then a variety of practical and financial support will be made available to you.

Support and training
All foster carers are reviewed every year and receive any training that’s needed to ensure they are suitable to continue fostering. They are also given a supervising social worker who visits on a regular basis to offer advice and support for foster careers and their families.

Fosterline
The advice line ‘Fosterline’ provides information and advice for foster carers and people thinking about becoming foster carers. Subjects covered include: allegations of abuse, benefits, training, breakdown of foster placements, and legal matters relating to fostering. The advice line is open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday, and the freephone number is 0800 040 7675. They can also be contacted at [email protected]

Do foster carers get paid?
All foster carers get an allowance to cover the cost of caring for a child in their home, and some carers may also get paid in recognition of their skills, commitment or time. Fostering agencies may make one payment to cover both of these. At the moment the amount of money given is decided by each local authority and fostering agency, but the government is developing a plan to set a national minimum allowance for foster carers.

Do foster carers pay Income Tax?
The current rules mean many UK foster carers now pay no tax on the money they earn from fostering. Foster carers are exempt from tax on the first £10,000 per year of their fostering income. After that, they get tax relief for every week (or part week) that a child is in their care. For every week that a child aged eleven or older is with them, the foster carer’s tax relief increases by £250. For every week that child aged ten or under is in their care, the tax relief increases by £200.

Types of fostering
There are different types of foster care depending on the needs of both the child and their family. These include short-term care for just a few days or weeks, to long-term placements, as well as care for disabled children or children with behavioural problems.

Categories of foster care

• Emergency.
• When children need somewhere safe to stay for a few nights.
• Short-term.
• When carers look after children for a few weeks or months, while plans are made for the child’s future.
• Short breaks.
• When disabled children, children with special needs or children with behavioural difficulties regularly stay for a short time with a family, so that their parents or usual foster carers can have a break.
• Remand.
• When young people are remanded by a court to the care of a specially trained foster carer.
• Long-term.
• Not all children who need to permanently live away from their birth family want to be adopted, so instead they go into long-term foster care until they are adults.
• Family and friends’ or ‘kinship’. A child who is the responsibility of the local authority goes to live with someone they already know, which usually means family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles or their brother or sister
• Specialist therapeutic
• For children and young people with very complex needs and/or challenging behaviour.

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