What types of foster care placements exist (e.g., emergency, short-term, long-term)?

The different types of fostering include:

Emergency

When children need a home in an emergency, there is a very short time-frame between matching and the child joining the home (often it’s limited to a few hours). Typically emergency arrangements only last a few days or weeks until a better matched fostering home is found, or until the child returns to live with their birth family.

Respite/ short stay/ planned breaks

Children may stay with foster carers for a few days because their previous carers (who may be foster carers or their family) need a few days or weeks break from supporting the child. The break may be needed because the child has a high level of support needs, or the family may be dealing with a difficult situation themselves, or the family may need to go abroad and are unable to take the child with them.

Short-term

Short-term fostering arrangements can last a few months or even up to a couple of years.

Long-term or permanent foster care

Long-term arrangements are confirmed when a child is settled into a home and the courts have determined that the child will remain in care until they are adult. In this situation the foster carers is expected to care for the child until they are ready to move into independent care.

Parent and child

When social care has determined that a parent (typically but not always a mother) needs support or supervision with the care of their child (usually a baby), social care may arrange for both to be cared for in a foster home which specialises in parent and child care. Further information about parent and child care can be found here.

Remand

Children who are waiting to be sentenced who can’t return home may be looked after in a remand foster home. More information about remand fostering can be found here.

Fostering siblings

There is a shortage of fostering households for sibling groups; sadly, this means that many siblings are separated. Being able to remain with siblings could be vital to a child’s emotional wellbeing.

Therapeutic fostering homes

All foster carers should receive some level of training about how to meet the therapeutic needs of children. Some foster carers chose to develop their learning and become specialist carers who can meet the therapeutic needs of children with complex needs.

Fostering unaccompanied asylum seeking (separated/sanctuary seeking) children

Foster carers of sanctuary seeking children are willing and able to meet the specific cultural, religious, linguistic and therapeutic needs of these children.

Fostering children with disabilities

Some foster carers specialise in caring for children with complex physical health needs.

Staying Put

The age range for foster care is 0 to 17 years old; however, under ‘staying put’ arrangements, the local authority supports foster carers to be able to care for all children in fostering placements until the age of 21.