Fostering
With the hundreds of children requiring long spells of intense childcare fostering has become a subject high on the agenda for social care workers.
These people are dedicated and committed to providing the highest quality help and support for children requiring foster care and for the adults who will become foster parents.
Fostering is concerned with the direct care for children who are suffering from difficult family situations and are unable to live at home.
It provides the help and support of a family atmosphere for these vulnerable individuals when they are making their start in life.
Who needs Fostering ?
The children who require foster care can be any age, from infancy through to those in their mid teens. The reasons why children need foster care can be incredibly varied, for example illness of the main provider in the family could require a child to be temporarily placed in foster care, abuse is another reason and if a parent or guardian has died or is unable to continue caring for the child they could also be placed in foster care.
The periods in which children stay in foster care are also varied, with some children only requiring short-term care. These children can often return home quickly once a situation is resolved, however some children need to be in care until they reach adulthood. Occasionally children may need to stay with foster carers for over a year whilst plans are made for the future or perhaps when the child is up for consideration in adoption.
Foster carers can also require support and aid whilst they are caring for a child, as it is a very important job. Social workers and other professionals are constantly on-hand to offer this support and help, ensuring the child is given the best start in life. They will advise foster carers in the proper eating habits and nutritional requirements for a child, how to help a child complete homework assignments, help in getting the child to school and ensuring they do well once in attendance.
Social workers will also ensure that the children have high confidence and self-esteem, helping them develop social skills with activities planned outside of a school and childcare environment. When there is more than one child involved social carers endeavour to try and not separate them, giving the children a more stable, secure and comfortable change in their environment. It is not uncommon for a foster carer to be guardian to a brother and sister together or perhaps even a higher number.
The environment provided is often as close to a family atmosphere as is available. Each individual child requiring foster care are granted nurture, protection and care for the duration they are with their foster carers.
Social workers will frequently assess the situation to ensure the children are happy and healthy in their foster environment and will make changed whenever this is not the case. It is in the best interests of social care workers to ensure that if it is possible for a child to return home that they are able to, but until then they have the best in care until permanent arrangements are made.