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How to Become a Foster Parent if you are Care Experienced. 

At Family Fostering Partners, we know that individuals who are themselves care experienced, bring a unique perspective and invaluable insights to the foster caring role. Your first hand experience put’s you at an advantage to other people interested in foster caring - your understanding of foster care can equip you with the empathy, resilience, and knowledge needed to provide a nurturing home for children in need. We are not looking for ‘perfect’ foster parents, we are looking for people willing to learn, be adaptable, and with a genuine care and interest in helping vulnerable young children. If that sounds like you, and if you're interested in learning how to become a foster parent, we’re here to guide you through the process. 

Understand What Foster Caring Entails

Foster caring involves providing a safe and loving home for children who are unable to live with their birth families. This role requires patience, compassion, and a commitment to supporting children during a crucial time in their lives. As someone who has experienced care, you may have a deeper understanding of the challenges these children face and how to support them effectively. To find out more about the different types of fostering, and what type of fostering would be best suited to you, click here. 

Assess Your Readiness for Foster Caring

how to become a foster parent foster caring

Before embarking on your journey to become a foster parent, take some time to reflect on your own experiences and how they shape your readiness to care for others. Consider the emotional and practical aspects of fostering. Being care experienced can offer you valuable insights, but it’s important, for all people hoping to embark on a foster caring journey, that you ensure you’re in a stable place to provide the support that children need and deserve. 

Research the Requirements

Each fostering agency has specific requirements, but generally, you’ll need to be over 21 years old, have a spare room in your home, and pass background checks which include a DBS check and personal references. Click here to find out more about what you need to be a foster parent.  At Family Fostering Partners, we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment, we welcome applications from individuals with care experience, recognising the strengths you bring to foster caring. 

Reach Out to Family Fostering Partners

If you’re ready to take the next step, reach out to us at Family Fostering Partners. We’re here to support you throughout the application process.   You can use the ‘Talk to Us’ feature to ask us questions about how to become a foster parent, or foster caring in general. There are lots of ways to get in contact… you can request an information pack, book an initial call , send us an email on info@familyfosteringpartners.co.uk or ask us a question. 

How to become a foster parent : Complete Training and Assessment

As part of your journey to becoming a foster parent with Family Fostering Partners, you’ll undergo training and an assessment. This is an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge about child development, trauma-informed care, and effective parenting strategies. Our training programs are designed to be supportive and informative, equipping you with the tools you need for successful foster caring. Our training is personalised to our foster parents and the children they support. Click here to learn more.

Share Your Story

Your experiences matter. As with all foster caring assessments, your supervising social worker will ask you about your background. When you share your story during the application process, you provide insight into your motivations for fostering and the skills you’ve developed through your own life journey. This can help your assessing social worker to understand your perspective and the unique contributions you can make as a foster parent. Click here to learn more about the assessment process. 

Build a Support Network

At Family Fostering Partners, we recognise that foster caring can be challenging and having a strong support network is crucial. At Family Fostering Partners, we provide lots of opportunity for support. You will be assigned your own dedicated link worker to support and advise you, have access to a 24/7 on call system for advice and guidance, the option to join our closed foster parent Facebook groups to access peer support, as well as regular days out and support groups to build your foster caring community. As an extension of our commitment to those hoping to become a foster parent, when you are approved, you will have full membership to Foster Talk. 

Be Open to Continuous Learning

Every child requiring foster care is unique, and foster caring successfully requires a willingness to adapt and learn. Embrace the challenges and joys that come with fostering and remember that seeking support is a sign of strength. “A thing to remember, which I've learned personally, is to realise that you're going to make mistakes. You're not perfect, and you need to be yourself, and the more natural you are, and the better foster parents you will be. You will come across challenges and obstacles. That's inevitable. It will happen. So what helps is being trained to a really good standard and having that training often. Being trained often and to a very high standard, really helps”  Explains David, a foster parent with Family Fostering Partners. Click here to hear more foster parent testimonials. 

At Family Fostering Partners, we are committed to supporting throughout every step of your fostering journey, providing resources and guidance as you grow in your role as a foster parent. As our name suggests, we work in partnership with our foster parents to ensure the children in our care feel safe, secure, and are able to achieve their full potential.   

 

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that care experienced people cannot foster, and it is simply untrue. Becoming a foster parent if you are care experienced is not only possible, but it can also be profoundly rewarding. Given your life experience, you will bring a unique perspective to fostering and be able to understand and support the children in your care drawing from your own experiences. At Family Fostering Partners, we believe that your journey through foster care has equipped you with essential qualities that can positively impact the lives of vulnerable children. So, how to become a foster parent? If you’re interested in fostering and want to learn more about how to become a foster parent, we invite you to reach out to us today. You can ask us a question, use the ‘talk to us’ feature, or book an initial call.  Or, if you feel ready to take the next step, complete our fostering application form. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children and young people in need of a loving home. 

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