The types of fostering we offer at UK Fostering range from emergency placements to planned placements, as well as more specialised types of foster care such as therapeutic fostering and remand fostering. The type of fostering we provide varies from case to case, depending on the needs of the individual child. If you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer and you’re not sure which type of fostering is for you, you will need to consider what skills and experience you have, as well as what would suit you and your family best.
Here are some of the different foster care services offered by UK Fostering – you may find that different fostering providers have different names for some of them.
Emergency
This is a placement that is made within 24 hours of it being requested, and where there has been no prior plan. UK Fostering provides a 24-hour emergency service for urgent cases such as these. Ideally an emergency placement should not exceed two weeks.
Short-term fostering & bridging
This is one of the shorter term types of fostering. A child or young person in a bridging placement may be awaiting a more permanent placement such as a long term foster family, or a family assessment centre. The period of this type of fostering placement could be anything from a few days to weeks or months, whilst plans are made for the future of the child with the relevant Local Authorities or social services departments.
Parent and Child
This type of fostering placement is for young people who have become parents at a young age and who need support and guidance in caring for their own child. Support, observation and assessment work can be carried out on behalf of the Local Authority. If required, qualified staff can prepare court reports and statements.
Children with disabilities or additional needs
There are many disabled children and young people who need a foster family. This can include children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, sensory impairments or a combination of these. UK Fostering has a range of carers who have experience in caring for children and young people who are disabled or require specialist medical care.
Stayover
Stayover, previously known as respite, placements are provided to give parents, or other foster carers a break or offer additional support if they do not have their own support network. At UK Fostering, this type of placement is only required occasionally as support is often provided by their own back-up carer, so foster carers are usually approved for more than just respite fostering.
Remand
Remand Foster Carers look after young people who are remanded by the courts into public care. These placements are usually short term and require the carer to work closely with the youth justice/offending teams to gain the best outcome for the child.
Planned
Types of planned fostering placements are also provided by UK Fostering, where we plan a placement in advance so that the best possible placement occurs for the child concerned.
If you’d like to know more about any of these types of fostering, or you need a specific type of fostering service which isn’t mentioned here, please give the team at UK Fostering a call and we’ll do all we can to help.
Different Types Of Fostering