Long-term carers are asked to look after children and teenagers who cannot live with their parents. Prior to moving to long term carers the child will have been living with temporary carers or in a children's home. They will have had difficulties in their early life with their parents. This may have involved emotional and physical neglect or abuse.
Attempts to reunite them with their parents will have been made and will have failed. Many of the children and young people will have had several periods of being looked after during their childhood either by Foster Carers or in residential centres. All this means that they may not be easy to look after. They may have feelings of confusion, anger and hurt which is shown through difficult behaviour and a lack of trust in adults.
For many of these children and teenagers it is very important that they remain in contact with their family even though they cannot live with them.
Long-term carers provide a home for children and young people who are unable to live with their families for the foreseeable future. The vast majority looked after by long term carers will live with them for the rest of their childhood until they reach the age of independence or as long as they are needed.
Occasionally, some young people have been successfully returned to their parents after years of support from Foster Carers.
As long term carers you need many skills, some of which involve:
- An ability to provide a stable home for as long as the child needs to be looked after
- An ability to accept the child’s past
- An ability to include the child’s parents in their future
- An ability to cope with unhappy children
- An ability to keep going even when things are difficult
- An ability to get the best out of education
- An ability to make sure they are well and healthy.
The rewards for long term fostering are many but the main one is knowing that you have provided a secure home for a child to grow and develop and help them overcome the effects of their past.