An intention to become a foster carer is often carried around for several years, before actually being put into action. When we speak to people who contact us to find out more about fostering, or to apply to become a foster carer, they often say: ’I have been thinking about becoming a foster carer for years’, or ‘it’s something I’ve always wanted to do’.
Because fostering is a vocation as well as a job, it affects not only the working hours of an individual, but their entire family including children, partner, siblings, parents, friends or even neighbours. There is so much scope for something to come in-between and to put the idea, or the plan to become a carer on the back burner. Certainly, the time has to be right, and most people actually know themselves, when that time has arrived.
Support from friends and family
‘My friends have been telling me for years I would make an excellent foster carer’ is a sentence Urs Bielmann, Director of UK Fostering hears quite often when he speaks to potential applicants. It is very important indeed that encouragement and support from the immediate family and social network is available. This rings true for a foster carer who is in a crisis and needs support, but also for children and young people who are placed in a family. These children need to feel that they are wanted, accepted and appreciated, not only by the foster carer, but also the people who are part of the social network of the foster family.
Maybe in 2021
Could it be that this year, in 2021, it is your time to apply to become a foster carer? If you have been thinking about fostering for some time, or even if you just want to have an informal discussion to find out more, why not give us a call on 0345 222 0518 or read further articles on our website to give you more information about becoming a foster carer. Who knows, maybe 2021 could be the year you make the step.