Can I Foster?

We’re sure that’s one of the first questions you ask yourself.  So here’s a checklist of what we consider the essential requirements to becoming a foster carer.
 
It’s essential that YOU:

• Like children and young people and enjoy their company
• Can work effectively alongside other people in the child’s life
• Don’t have a police record for violence or offences against children
• Can understand or a prepared to learn, how children behave when they’ve been emotionally or physically hurt
• Willing to attend training courses and support groups
• Have room in your home for a child or children 

You can foster if:

• You’re single or married.
• You’ve a disability or medical condition (as long as it’s stable and doesn’t affect your ability to care for a child).
• You’ve children of your own or not.
• You own your own home or not – as long as you have a stable tenancy.
• You work or not as we have a variety of schemes to suit a wide range of circumstances.
• You’re retired
• Whether your own childhood was difficult, as long as you’ve learnt from the experiences.
• Regardless of your ethnic background, we always need carers from different cultures in order to match children and young people with suitable families.

Skills and qualities required:

It’s fair to say that many of the children who need fostering have been through some very traumatic experiences. They may have some quite challenging behaviour or they might just feel lonely and afraid. As a foster carer, you’ll provide day to day care for any child who needs looking after, but it’s much more than that. Your role will be to support them, help them develop and grow and act on their behalf when dealing with, for example, educational services.

There are some key skills or qualities that we look for in our foster carers and these will probably be quite natural to you, but if not you’ll soon acquire them with our support. You must be able to provide a good standard of care for other people’s children, promoting the healthy growth, development and achievement of the child. You’ll need the ability to work closely with the child’s family and those important to the child.
 
You’ll also need the ability to set appropriate boundaries and manage a child’s behaviour without resorting to physical or inappropriate punishment. And you’ll need knowledge of child development and must be able to listen to and communicate with children in a manner appropriate to their age and understanding.
 
Ensuring that children are cared for in a home safe from harm and abuse, you’ll advise the children on how to get help when they need to. Working with other professionals, you’ll contribute to and help to implement a care plan for the child. This may include specific responsibilities e.g. making sure the child is able to visit her / his family and friends.
 
You will also need to communicate with a variety of people and promote equality. Actively encouraging children to learn, you’ll help them to feel positive about their origins, religion and culture.
 
Helping children to develop secure attachments with adults is another essential element of a carer’s role. This involves helping the child to realise that some adults can provide them with safe and effective care.
 
You’ll be able to speak up for the child in order to ensure that they receive good care and the opportunity to develop. Making the best use of training opportunities, you should be willing to develop your skills and appreciate how personal experiences have affected you and your family as well as how fostering will affect everyone concerned.
 
Working as part of the Cheshire East Council team and with staff and professionals from many agencies, you’ll work within policy and guidelines that are in place and ensure that each child fulfils their potential. You’ll take part in meetings about the child you’re caring for, keep written records about their care and contribute to reports about the child, dealing responsibly with confidential information.
 
Your strong character must be able to sustain positive relationships during periods of stress, and you should have links within the community that will provide you with the support you need whenever you need it.