Choosing the Right Child
As you can imagine, when a child moves into Foster Care so much changes for them, they are around new people, a new home, new routines, maybe even a new school. This can be so overwhelming for a child and to boot they are having to do this whilst being separated from their family.
As adults, who understand what and how family life should be like, its is much easier for us to accept that the home your foster child has come from may have been unsafe, however for the child or young person, it is still their familiarity, their normal, and just because their family haven’t been able to keep them safe and protected doesn’t mean that they don’t love them any less. Just for a moment, try to put yourselves in their shoes and imagine all the different emotions that this poor child is having to process. It is from this place of empathy that we as Foster Cares work.
As child centred Foster Care providers we will work collaboratively with the team around the child to help make the transition into Foster Care as smooth as possible, part of this the process of matching. When we receive a referral from a Local Authority for a child who is need of a Foster Home, we take into consideration all of the information that has been provided when considering which of our Foster Carers may be suitable and able to provide the best level of stability and continuity for them. This may include:
Fostering children with different faiths
What type of fostering placements the foster carers can provide
Languages spoken within the home
Location of Foster Carer (do they need to be close to away from their family home/school etc)
Cultural and ethnic backgrounds
Personal and/or professional experiences of the foster carers – lead off what make a good carer
The level of training that our Foster Carers have
