Foster carers must be able to care for a child or teenager. This needs commitment, skills and knowledge.
The purpose of the assessment process is to ensure that you will be able to parent well, safely and securely. We do this in different ways and normally it will be completed within 6 months.
The first step is to attend a preparation course. You will learn more about fostering and if it is right for you and your family. As you might expect, the assessment process is very thorough. As an agency, we must ensure that there is no reason why you cannot be entrusted with the care of someone else’s child.
The assessment process consists of the following steps:
Police Reports
A full police report will be carried out. If you have a criminal record it does not necessarily mean that you cannot foster a child, it depends on the offence and when it happened. There are some types of offence which would prevent you from being approved as a foster carer. In order for the police check to take place, you will be asked to give a list of your previous addresses from the age of 8 years.
Local Authority Checks
Checks will be made with the Local Authorities where you have lived since the age of 16 years. These checks are carried out to find out if youhave had any previous contact with Social Work Services, which might suggest you should not foster a child.
Medical Reports
Your GP will be required to give you a medical examination to determine if you are medically fit to have the full-time care of a child. Disability or illness does not necessarily mean that you cannot be a foster carer. However, your ability to look after a child will be assessed by the Medical Adviser to the Fostering Panel.
References
You will be asked to give the names of 3 people who can give you a personal reference. One of them should be a member of your own family and the other 2 should know you in your personal life rather than professionally in the way a Doctor or Minister might do. Your Social Worker will also be asked to interview 2 of your referees. Referees who can comment on you skills with children are particularly welcomed. We will also be in contact with any children of your own or from previous relationships to seek their views.
Employer’s References
We will request a reference from your current or last employer.
Health Visitor’s Report
A Health Visitor’s report will be requested if you have recently cared for a child under the age of 5 years.
Educational Reference
We will contact the school of any child under the age of 18 years who was or is in your care, asking for their opinion of your abilities.
Other Adults
Other adults living in your household will be asked to consent to Police and medical reports.
Documentation
You will be asked to produce your birth certificate and marriage certificate and any other relevant certificates, e.g. Extract Decrees of Divorce.
The Home Study
You and your Social Worker will work together to provide evidence of your skills and abilities. You must show that you are competent to care for children in the following ways:
Caring for Children
- Providing a good standard of care to other people’s children, which promotes healthy emotional, physical and sexual development as well as their health and emotional achievements.
- Working closely with children’s families and others who are important to the child.
- Setting appropriate boundaries and managing children’s behaviour within these, without use of physical or other inappropriate punishments.
- Having a knowledge of normal child development and being able to listen and communicate with children appropriate to their age and understanding.
Providing a Safe and Caring Environment
- Ensuring that the children are cared for in a home where they are safe from harm or abuse.
- Helping children keep themselves safe from harm or abuse and to know how to seek help if their safety is threatened.
Working as Part of a Team
- Working with other professional people and contributing to the Social Services departments’ planning for a child/young person.
- Communicating effectively.
- Keeping information confidential.
- Promoting equality, diversity and rights of individual groups within society.
Own Development
- Appreciating how personal experiences have affected themselves and their families, and the impact that fostering is likely to have on them all.
- Having people and links within the community which provide support.
- Using training opportunities to improve skills.
- An ability to sustain positive relationships and maintain effective functioning through periods of stress.
The Fostering Panel
All the information gathered during your assessment is presented to the Highland Council’s Fostering Panel. The Panel is made up of representatives from the Highland Council’s Social Work, Education and Legal Services; the Health Services and a Voluntary Organisation. A foster carer sits on the Panel. You will be asked to attend part of the meeting, to discuss your application. Your Social Worker will be there. The Panel makes a recommendation about your suitability.
The Decision
You will receive a letter within 21 days to tell you whether your application to become a foster parent has been successful. This decision will be based on the information provided and the recommendation of the Fostering Panel.
If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal within 21 days to the Director of Social Work Services, who will write to you outlining how the appeal will be conducted.