Becoming a Foster Carer: Part 1

Becoming a foster carer for young people is a hugely rewarding career. So that you can help young people reach their full potential, prospective foster carers have to be approved by going through an application process. This process is the same for all fostering agencies, whether they're independent or a local authority. It takes up to 6 months to be approved but it means you're completely ready to start supporting young people.

Start your fostering journey today

Over the next few weeks, we'll be guiding you through the application process and giving you more information about what to expect. We know from listening to you that you can find the application process daunting, especially if you don't know much about it. That's why we're here to help.

There are four main stages to the process of becoming a foster carer:

1. Training
2. Assessment
3. Panel
4. Approval

Training

As a potential foster carer, you'll be invited to take part in courses to prepare you and help you learn about fostering young people. The courses are really helpful and give you a realistic view on what fostering involves and the different children you could be caring for.

Assessment

The assessment stage includes the checks that must be carried out by your social worker. These are required by law and help us ensure our foster carers can provide the best possible care for children and young people.

Panel

Our fostering panel is made up of childcare experts and people independent of St Christopher's. A report about your assessment will be discussed and you'll be invited to join the discussion. The fostering panel will recommend whether to approve someone as a foster carer.

Approval

The panel's recommendation will be given to St Christopher's agency decision maker. This person will confirm your approval and you'll be added to our register of foster carers, ready to start supporting young people.

Over the next few posts, we'll go into more detail about what you can expect at each stage. Next time, we'll take a look at the training stage and some of the things you'll learn about fostering.

If you're still thinking about fostering young people and want to know more, enquire on our website by clicking here.