Home: Community full menu: Social care and health: Fostering
 Different kinds of fostering
Fostering Service, Family Placement Unit - June 2006
fostering@kirklees.gov.uk
Long Term
This is usually considered for children aged 6+, who need a family to look after them until they become adults. Long Term means there is an expectation that the child will live with the carers family until they are ready to move on as an adult. The carers work in partnership with Children and Young People's Service and the Local Authority and play a very important part but do not have full legal responsibility as parents. (In adoption the carers become new legal parents). Children placed with long term foster carers are carefully matched and have a period of introductions.
Short Term
This is provided for children of all ages from birth to teenagers. Short term means the child is with the carers whilst decisions and plans are made
about how best to meet their future needs. The length of the placement can vary and may be a few days or more than a year (especially if Court proceedings are involved) and the expectation is that the child will not be staying with the short term fostering family.
Through discussion with their social worker, during the assessment carers can decide what age range of children is most suited to their skills and interests. Some carers are approved for under 5s, others 8-11, others for teenagers - it is an individual approval for each carer and can change over time.
Emergency Carers
This scheme is similar to short term fostering in many ways but as the name suggests carers take children in an emergency. Flexibility is required and carers are expected to take children of any age and at any time of day or night. Children may not stay long and sometimes move on to short term carers, whilst their future needs are decided.
Carers on this scheme usually have had previous experience of fostering or extensive child care experience. New carers are unlikely to be approved to be
emergency carers. We would also want emergency carers to take family groups wherever possible.
Short Breaks Service
This service is intended to provide respite support with the care of children within a range of family settings e.g. own families, foster families or adoptive families. It includes children who are at risk of abuse, usually of school age, and takes pressure off the carers by giving them a break. Children go for breaks planned and agreed between workers, family and carers e.g. a weekend a month.
Carers are able to plan ahead and the relationship with birth parents is often different, as they see it as ongoing support. We would be interested to hear from people who could be linked to a number of families.
A specialist service is provided for children with a disability and supports parents by giving them a break. Unlike other kinds of fostering where there may be issues around parenting skills of birth parents, the children placed through this scheme are usually only there because of their disability and their special needs. Children go for breaks agreed between workers, family and carers eg a weekend each month, school holidays.
Carers are able to plan ahead and the relationship with the parents is often different, as they see it as ongoing support. The partnership
with parents of the children using this scheme is also very different from most other kinds of fostering.
We are looking for single people or couples who could offer support to several children and their families. This could include a time
commitment of 15 nights per month.
A particular need is for carers who have ground floor properties or adapted houses to take children with physical disabilities.
Remand
This is a small scheme intended specifically to look after young people who have been remanded to the care of the Local Authority by a Court. This will be because they have been charged with committing an offence and the Court does not think it is appropriate for them to live at home on bail.This would normally be because the offence is serious or because the Court thinks there is significant risk of further offending. It is essentially short term and the length of placement will be determined by the progress of the Court proceedings.
Remand carers work closely with the Youth Offending Team and other professionals. Carers generally are only approved to take one child.
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