Any adult British citizen or resident with an indefinite work and stay permit can consider becoming a foster carer. As there are indeed more children in need of foster care right now than ever before, more adults with the right mindset should in fact give it serious consideration. Go through the following points if you wish to know more about who would be best suited for the work and why you should consider becoming a foster carer yourself.
Who is Qualified to Become a Foster Carer?
The preliminary recruitments state that as long as you meet the following requirements, you are eligible to apply at your nearest fostering agency (online/offline).
- The applicant must be an adult, preferably older than 21.
- The applicant must have an extra room at their home which is suitable for a child to live and sleep in.
- The applicant must be an UK citizen, or they must be a resident without any stay or work restrictions.
- The applicant must not have any criminal record of sexual or violent nature.
These are the minimum requirements, and if you meet them, you can apply at your local authority for foster care, or an independent fostering agency.
Why is Foster Care Something that You Should Consider?
If you enjoy the experience of caring for children and leaving a positive impact on their lives, there is no better way than fostering to ensure that you get to do that. Therefore, you should consider becoming a foster carer if you find happiness and reward in the work itself. If you are worried about financial resources that you will need to care for the children and yourself, don’t be. Independent fostering agencies pay generous amounts in fostering allowance plus benefits (variable) to make sure that their registered foster carers have all that they need to properly care for all needs.
Since fostering duties must be prioritised over any other work, the allowances are generous enough to help foster carers generate a decent income from the allowance as well. There are also tax exemptions to consider for the entire household.
Who is Best Suited to Become a Good Foster Carer?
The eligibility to apply does not guarantee assignment. There will be a future assessment which will determine that. However, you can certainly tell whether someone would be best suited as a foster carer or not by looking for certain environmental and personality attributes. For example:
- Caring and nurturing parents are naturally suited for the work.
- An adult who likes working with children and is liked by children as a parental figure will find the work rewarding.
- Caring and loving adults with enough time on their schedule that they can dedicate to the care of the foster children are ideal for foster carer work.
- Supportive homes that are shared by people with peaceful, cooperative relationships between them are what foster care agencies look for.
Note that it is not a requirement for any applicant to have specific degrees or qualifications that might make them better suited for childcare. Barring special circumstances, all the education and training you will need to care for the children in your care will be provided by your IFA or LA.
As mentioned, there are special circumstances where care providers with specific care skills will be required. However, if you do not have any such qualifications, it will not have any impact on your suitability for foster care in general. Interested foster carers can even acquire most of the specialist care skills by taking courses from fostering agencies near their location.
