• Initial visit

When a fostering social worker comes to visit, they will need to take a quick look around your home to make sure that it will be suitable for fostering. They will also encourage you to talk over any questions that you (or your family) have. They will encourage you to think through everything for and against taking your application further. 

• Preparing to foster

Before you can be approved to foster, you have to take part in our preparation course. Most of our applicants enjoy this course – it’s not like going back to school and doesn’t mean lots of written work or anything like that.

 

You will meet other people who have recently applied as well as meet experienced foster carers. Bringing up foster children is quite different to bringing up your own children. No matter what experience you already have, this preparation period is vital.

• Assessment

Your social worker will meet with you regularly at your home to work through all the skills and qualities foster carers will need. They will explain all the issues of working with children and working with the department.

 

Your partner, your children and everyone living with you will need to take part in this assessment. As your assessment continues, you will be able to consider all the options open to you.

 

You can discuss which age and type of child would suit your home, how many children you’d like to foster, whether you’d like to foster disabled children, etc. Your social worker will try to help you to make the right choice for you and your family.

 

All being well, following the initial visit, your assessment as a foster carer should take around 6 months to complete.

• Changing your mind

At any stage you can reconsider or put your application on hold. No one will criticise your decision or try to persuade you to change your mind.

• Statutory checks

If you’re going ahead we will need to check with the police and other authorities to make sure there is nothing serious in your past history (or the past history of anyone else in your house) that would prevent you from fostering.

 

If you are at all worried about this, you should discuss this with your social worker at a very early stage. We will also pay for you to have a health check with your doctor.

• References

We will take up your personal and employer’s references.

• Report

Your social worker pulls together all the information you have worked through in your sessions together. They write a report (called a form F) where they consider everything that will affect your suitability to foster and the number and kind of children who would suit your home. You get to see the non-confidential parts of this report and you can make your own comments as well.

• Panel

It is up to you whether or not you wish to attend this. Your social worker presents your report to an independent panel made up of childcare professionals, a doctor and foster carers. This panel decides whether or not you can be approved as a foster carer.

 

The panel will look at your social worker’s report + your doctor’s report and references, etc. Occasionally the panel will ask for more information or suggest, in light of reports, etc., that you reconsider.

• If you are approved

Your social worker will let you know at once and you will be invited to sign a written agreement with the department outlining the terms of your approval. You will be introduced to your link worker who will support you through your fostering career and who will allocate children to you.

• If you are not approved

Your social worker will let you know at once and discuss the reasons with you. The chair of the panel will also write to you to explain how they came to their decision. It is possible to reapply.

• Appeal

If you disagree with any of the reasons the panel gives for not approving your application you can appeal.

 

Contact the social worker who has prepared your assessment (or, if you prefer, contact their team manager, service manager or a representative from the Leicester Foster Carers Partnership) for details of how to go about this.

• After approval

You can now start fostering. You can also take advantage of continuing training opportunities and move up through the accreditation levels and if you wish you can work for NVQ qualifications.

 

As you begin to look after children you will receive payments through the accreditation scheme and allowances appropriate to the age of child.

 

Your approval is reviewed every year or following any major change in your circumstances.

 

Social events and support groups help you to keep in touch with your fellow carers. You can share your experiences and ideas with other carers as well as unwind and have a good time.

 

It is up to you to decide how long you will continue to foster. Some people carry on for 25 years or longer. Others decide to foster for a limited period or take a break after a few years.