Foster care options
Fostering is an amazing thing for anyone to do. It involves providing children who cannot be with their birth family, for whatever reason, a stable and loving home. Thousands of children are living in foster homes all over the UK, in need of support and love from a foster family. As a foster carer, you can make a real difference to a child’s life by offering a safe and caring home and giving a child a positive experience of family life that they may not have ever had before. There are many different types of foster care options available and at Fostering Dimensions, we’re here to help you find the foster care path that’s right for you. If you’re interested in fostering but aren’t sure where to start, take a look at the foster care Nottingham choices below to find the perfect option for you and get started on your fostering journey.
Emergency foster care Nottingham
Emergency foster care is an option that many people choose once they have become experienced foster carers. Emergency foster care Nottingham means you must be available to provide care and take a child into your home at any time, day or night and provide care for them. This form of fostering is unplanned and occurs at short notice, so requires a foster carer who is prepared for this. For example, you may be called upon to care for a child if their parent has been taken into hospital and there is no one else to care for them. As the emergency foster carer, you would provide support and home the child for however long is required This is usually a matter of days, if the problem becomes long term then the foster care agency will look into finding a long term care solution for the child. When considering this kind of foster care, it is important to think about how it will affect your life and if it will be beneficial for you, your family and the foster children. You must be able to adapt easily to the ever-changing circumstances when it comes to emergency foster care Nottingham.
At Fostering Dimensions, we ensure that all of our foster carers are prepared for anything they may face on their fostering journey, including emergency foster care. To provide the best quality care, we offer training that occurs in individual and group settings as well as online. Training is a continual and integral part of your fostering journey, ensuring that you continue to learn and grow as a foster carer. If you’re interested in foster care Nottingham, we’re here to help you gain all the skills and credentials to be a foster carer so you can make a difference to foster children’s lives.
Short term foster care
Some times referred to as interim fostering, short term fostering requires foster carers to provide a short term solution home for a child for anything from an overnight stay to several months. In most cases, short term fostering placements do not exceed 24 months. After their short term fostering placement, the child often returns home to their birth family, is provided a long term fostering placement or adoption arrangements are made. Short term fostering placements allow the carer and foster child to make the care long term during the placement. This means that if develop a personal connection or family bond with your foster child, your placement doesn’t have to end.
At Fostering Dimensions, we do everything we can to arrange foster care placements between foster children and carers that we think will a suitable match. We do this by getting to know all of our foster carers, creating relationships with them and understanding why they want to foster. Once you enquire about foster care Nottingham with Fostering Dimensions, we begin with an informal chat with a team member involving a few simple questions. We would then arrange a home visit to find out more about you, your home and family life and to give you the chance to ask any questions you might have about fostering in Nottingham.
Long term foster care
Long term fostering involves finding a long term home for a foster child in cases where they are not able to return to their birth family or if they are unlikely to be adopted. Many children will not be able to return to their birth families or be adopted for years, if at all. Long term fostering provides children with a safe and stable environment where they can finally feel settled, giving them a sense of security and a place they can call home. This kind of fostering placement can be arranged in advance or come as a result at the end of a short term placement. Most long term placement periods are indefinite, providing care for a foster child until they move on when they reach an age of independence. Long term foster care allows you to build a strong relationship with your foster child, in some cases, it even leads to adoption.
Long term foster care Nottingham comes with huge responsibilities and requirements. Not only do you have to provide your foster child with emotional, mental and physical care but also financial support. At fostering Dimensions, we know that financial stress can occur in any family. If you’re considering foster care Nottingham, this is something you don’t need to feel stressed about. We provide all of our foster carers with a weekly allowance to support their child to provide them with all of life’s necessities such as food, clothes, school equipment as well as support them develop through their hobbies and clubs. We also recognise your hard work financially. The financial support you receive depends on your foster child’s age and level of support they require.
Short break foster care
Short break foster care gives you the chance to support not only foster children but their long term foster family as well. This kind of care might mean looking after a foster child for anything from a few hours every so often or a whole weekend a month. This gives the foster child and their full-time foster family a chance to have some time apart. This care is required when the full time or long term foster carers have commitments they need to attend without their child and need alternative care, or if they are taking a short break or holiday without their child. Short break foster care is ideal for individuals looking to get into foster care Nottingham but would struggle to provide the required time and commitment for long term placements.
Another form of short break foster care is known as support foster care. This is when foster carers provide part-time support to a family for their child. This method has been developed to support struggling families and prevent their child from entering the foster care system in the first place. Every family has its struggles and as a support foster carer, you’ll be there to help them through it. Like short break foster care, you’ll also allow the birth family and their child to have some time apart.
At Fostering Dimensions, all of our foster carers are important to us, no matter what kind of fostering they are doing. If you’re a short break foster carer, we’re still committed to providing you with the full support of our team and services. From 24 hours phone support to monthly foster carer support groups, we’re here to help you every step of the way on your fostering journey.
Parent and child fostering Nottingham
Many young parents find themselves in foster care if they lack familial support, or don’t have a family at all. Parent and child fostering provide support for a young, often teenage, parent and child, who currently live in foster care. As their foster carer, you would provide support and home the parent and child until they and their social worker are ready to become independent. This method of foster care helps avoid placing the parents and their children in residential units, where they have little support and may struggle to cope alone. This can often lead to the breakdown of relationships and separation of the parent and child, the last thing anyone wants.
When you choose to foster with Fostering Dimensions, we make sure you’re prepared for any situation as a carer. We know that foster care Nottingham can bring new experiences to foster carers and that not all of them are positive. You may witness upsetting things, especially when it comes to parent and child fostering. With us, you’ll have access to confidential counselling sessions as well as regular visits, advice and support from your social worker.
Now that you know about all of the fostering options that are out there, why not enquire today. We’ll provide you will all the answers to your questions and help kickstart your foster care journey.