Children and young people of all ages and from all backgrounds come into care when they are unable to live with their birth parents for a period of time.
The reasons children come into care vary widely, including a parent’s short-term illness or another temporary problem within the family. Some children may have witnessed domestic violence or a parent’s depression or drug or alcohol abuse. Others may have been abused or neglected. Each child’s circumstances and needs are unique. Around two-fifths of the children in care are aged 11 to 15 years. Finding foster carers for teenagers is a key priority for a number of fostering services in the UK.
Other fostering services will need foster carers to look after children with specific learning difficulties and disabilities, young parents and their babies, as well as groups of brothers and sisters and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Children can be fostered from birth, right up until their 18th birthday. Legislation now exists in each of England, Scotland and Wales that supports young people to stay with their former foster carer up until the age of 21, and young people in education, employment or training can also stay with foster families in Northern Ireland.
Can I choose who I foster?
An important part of fostering is, of course, making sure there is the right fit between you, your family and the child or young person as it is crucial that they feel settled quickly in your home and that you can meet the needs of that particular child. This will be part of your assessment process and is an ongoing conversation with your fostering service as your circumstances change and your fostering experience grows.
There is a diverse range of children and young people who need fostering and it is important that you keep an open mind as to who you might be willing to look after. You might think you’re best suited to look after teenagers rather than very young children, but with the right support and training you might actually be just the right carer for a pre-schooler. You will not have to say yes to a child or young person coming to live with you if you feel that you cannot meet their needs or if your family circumstances mean that you think it would not be a good fit.
There are other factors that you may want to consider when expressing a preference as to the child or young person who may be placed with you - things such as language (would you be able to meet the needs of a young person who didn’t speak English?), religion (would you be able to meet the needs of a child with a particular religious faith?) or disability (would you be able to meet the needs of a young person with a particular disability?).