Making the decision to become a foster parent is a decision which only you can decide, before you make the call to us have a think of the following —am I over 21, have I a spare bedroom, am I a British citizen or do I have right to remain and lastly do I have the time and commitment. If you ticked yes to all these and you choose to foster with us, you can then rely on our support and guidance throughout the whole process.
Your foster journey is completed in six stages to become a foster parent here at Caring Hearts and the whole process can take between four and six months.
Although this may sound like a long time, it’s crucial that you’re given all the information you need, and know exactly what to expect and understand what fostering means for you and your family.
Step 1 -Is the enquiry stage- An advisor will talk to you about fostering and what you will need to become a foster parent the main thing being a spare bedroom.
Step 2 -Is the home visit stage- An advisor will visit you in your home to have a look around the property and the room available for fostering, at this stage questions are answered. Hopefully by the end of this visit you will have made the decision that fostering is right for you and you will be given an application to fill in.
Step 3 -Is the fostering assessment stage- Once your application has been received one of our social workers will be in touch to start the assessment this is called the Form F process, visits will take place over several weeks to collect information about you and your family. It is during this assessment that the DBS/s are started medical are completed and many other checks are carried out. This process can seem like your whole life is being scrutinised but it’s a process needed to become a foster parent.
Step 4 -Is the training stage- You will be invited to attend skills to foster over a 3 day period this is to give you the skills and knowledge around becoming a foster parent.
Step 5 –Is the fostering panel stage – Once the form F has been completed and signed off by the registered manger and form f assessor it is presented to a panel. The panel make recommendations to the fostering manager who will make the final decision about whether you are to be approved a foster parent with the agency.
Step 6 -This is the final step on starting your fostering journey with us here at Caring Hearts. The placement team will be in touch to do a placement preparation plan with you to ascertain what best suits you and your family with the aim of identifying a young person to be placed with you.
If you are happy to start your journey with us please give us a call for further information.