Over 60,000 children live in foster care situations in the UK. Whether that is for a temporary time period or more permanent, lots of carers and children alike are finding the benefits of fostering. However, a lot of potential parents know very little about fostering apart from the basics. Fostering provides the same amount of care as adoption but in a lot of cases for shorter time scales and does not involve the wholesale legal changes which are brought about by adoption. Here are some facts about fostering which you may not be familiar with.
Single People Can Foster
A person’s marital status does not affect their eligibility to foster. Single, married and people living with their partners can foster. There are also no set rules against people living in rented living accommodation nor regarding sexuality or religion.
There is no Restriction on the Age You Have to Be to Foster
Fostering regulations require a foster parent to be a minimum of 21 years old (and for some, such as Capstone, the minimum is 25) there is no official upper age limit on foster carers providing the individual is fit enough to look after a child or young person.
Non-British Citizens Can Foster
As children from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds need to be taken into foster care, potential foster carers from different backgrounds, including those from other countries, are welcomed by agencies and local authorities to apply.
English Does Not Have to be Your First Language
As with the above point, there are children who require foster care from many different countries and while it is beneficial for them to learn English, their carers do not necessarily have to have it as their first language.
What do John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe and Steve Jobs have in Common?
That’s right! They were all taken into foster care when they were younger. Foster care is a vital service which transforms young lives.
Foster Carers Receive Financial Allowances
Allowance levels are set by individual agencies but they are calculated to cover the costs of food, clothing, and pocket money to ensure the foster carers do not take on too much extra financial burden.
Most Foster Matches are Made to the Carers Requirements
Some believe that potential foster carers do not get a say in who they foster. This would not be beneficial to the child in question or the parents. Parents will be interviewed towards the beginning of the process to find out such preferences as how many children they would like to care for and the preferred age range.
There is a Limit to the Number of Foster Children One Home Can Have.
Although this is not the case in Scotland, law dictates that foster parents may only care for up to three children (providing there has not been an exemption to the ‘usual fostering limit’).
This post is written by Sam Renton
Sam is a lifestyle blogger who loves to spend to time with the family, travel and find a good bargain.
I have often considered the fostering thing,