Fostering is looking after babies, children and young people in your own home, who cannot live at home with their own families. Children need foster care for lots of different reasons; for example their parents may be ill, in prison, or having relationship problems. Some children will have been abused or neglected.
Lots of fostered children will return home to live with their own families, and need an alternative secure family environment while we work with their parents. Other children who are unable to return home will need permanent care away from their families. Fostering therefore may involve looking after a child for a night or two, a few months or a number of years. Fostering is more than just ‘parenting’. It is a team of people working with parents and social workers to care for children.
Fostering is not something that can be done in isolation. It affects your family and close friends. Choosing to foster is not a decision that can be made easily. We hope that the information on these pages will help you to decide whether fostering is right for you and your family.
If you would like to talk to someone about fostering or to apply please contact our team on 020 314 6655 or come along to one of our information days.
Making an application does not commit you to anything and many people do not go further than the information stage. This is quite normal because you need to feel sure that fostering is right for you and your family.