Some common myths and misconceptions about fostering
Here are some key facts about fostering to challenge common misconceptions:
Foster carers don’t need a big house
A spare bedroom is needed for every child over the age of 3 that is fostered. People who only wish to foster babies in short term or emergency arrangements don’t need a spare bedroom. Single people or couples only need a 2 bedroom home in order to foster and the home doesn’t have to be big.
Foster carers don’t need to be rich to foster
Foster carers receive a fee and allowance to cover the cost of fostering. In fact, the fee provided by Sparks Fostering has allowed some of the foster carers to leave their job to foster.
However, the fee is only paid when there is a child in the home, so foster carers do have to evidence that they’re able to cover their costs until a child joins their home and in any gaps when no children are being fostered. Some foster carers have been able to cover their expenses when claiming income support and other benefits, so have been able to foster.
Parenting experience isn’t essential to foster
It is not a requirement that foster carers have been parents; however, foster carers need to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of child development and how to meet children’s needs. This may be via employment or through supporting family members with their children.
You don’t have to be married to foster
Relationship status doesn’t impact on someone’s ability to foster; what is important is that the proposed foster carer(s) are able to meet the needs of the child. Foster carers may be single, married, or in a relationship. Sexuality and gender identification are also not connected to an applicant’s eligibility to foster.
You can’t be too old to foster
Rather than age, current and predicted health are determinants of whether a fostering application would be accepted. Age may be relevant if the medical advisor states that the applicant’s health is likely to deteriorate over the term that fostering has been proposed.
Being on medication for depression doesn’t rule out foster carers
Fostering applicants are required to have stable emotional and mental health and the medical assessment must show that the carers health is unlikely to deteriorate during the course of fostering. Many people remain stable on depression medication for many years and are able to provide excellent parenting to children, so this would not rule out someone from fostering.
Having a previous history of offending or involvement with social care don’t automatically stop someone from fostering
A police check and social care check are carried out as part of the fostering assessment, and full disclosure of any police or social care involvement is expected at the start of the assessment. Any previous criminal activity or involvement with social care is risk assessed by the assessing social worker to determine the likely impact on the safety of the child. Relatively minor historical offences or involvement with social care are unlikely to impact negatively on the fostering assessment.
The fostering assessment isn’t hard, it’s just long
The fostering assessment takes between 3 to 9 months, sometimes longer. Delays in assessments at Sparks Fostering are usually due to the lack of availability of the fostering applicants, or due to delays getting information back from checks and referees.
Sparks Fostering requires all applicants to have basic IT and typing skills. Applicants also need to be self-motivated and disciplined to complete their record keeping. Anyone who meets those requirements has the skills required to complete the fostering assessment.
