Types of fostering
There are lots of different types of foster care you can provide. You can find out more below or contact the team and we will help you find the right kind of fostering for you and your family.
You don't need lots of specialist skills to become a foster carer, we will train you up.
Foster Carer Jude talks about her experiences of fostering with us and the different types of fostering she has done.
The types of foster care we offer at Foster with Staffordshire range from short break to long-term care, as well as more specialised types of foster care such as Disability short break fostering.
The type of foster carer we need varies from child to child, depending on the needs of each individual child or young person.
If you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer and you’re not aware of the different types of fostering that are available, then this is a great place for you to start.
Short term fostering
Short term (task centred) fostering is where you work towards a goal within a set time period. Short term fostering helps prepare children to return to their own family, to an adoptive family or long term foster carers, or helping older children to get ready for living independently.
Long term fostering
Long term fostering is a type of fostering that involves caring for children who cannot return to their families and for whom adoption isn’t appropriate.
The child in need of long term fostering will normally be aged between 7–18 years of age, and you could foster them for a few years, or usually until they either return home or become independent.
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Resilience foster care
Resilience foster care provides long term care for young people aged 10-18 years who currently live in residential care but are ready to move back to a fostering household. As a resilience foster carer, you would foster one young person and support that person into adult life.
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Supported lodgings
Supported lodgings is an alternative to typical foster care and offers you a great opportunity if you want to continue to work and support a vulnerable young person. Supported lodgings offers young people aged 16-20 the opportunity to live in a family environment where they are given more independence.
You need to be able to offer them a stable home environment, support them to develop practical skills and gain emotional stability which is all needed to make the transition to independent living.
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Fostering a baby
The aim of fostering a baby is to ensure a child is looked after until they can either return home to their parents or extended family members, move into long term fostering, or onto adoption.
To be able to foster a baby you need to be available to care for them full-time and also be able to work with birth parents and professionals who are involved in the care of the child.
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Short break fostering
Sometimes short break fostering is required for foster children, which involves providing regular short stays for a child.
You need to be able to commit to providing regular short stays for a child who is either in foster care, who still lives with their birth family or who has been adopted.
Short breaks vary from child to child. A child might come for a few days within the week, for 1 weekend a month or for 1 or 2 weeks during the manin summer holidays.
Emergency fostering scheme
Emergency fostering is a new fostering scheme that provides emergency fostering families for babies and children at a time of crisis. Out of normal office hours.
The child in need will be aged between 0–18 years of age and we are looking for potential foster carers who have experience of working with or looking after vulnerable young people or babies. We are not currently recruiting for this type of fostering.
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Disability short break fostering
Disability short break fostering is a type of foster care that supports children who have a disability and their family. If you were to help Foster with Staffordshire with disability short break fostering, you would look after a child for a short break, maybe overnight or for a weekend or in the school holidays.
Short breaks vary from child to child. A child might come for a few days within the week, for 1 weekend a month or for 1 or 2 weeks during the manin summer holidays.
Find out more
TurnAround fostering
TurnAround fostering enables a child or young person to have short term emergency care, when they first enter the care system, for up to 72 working hours.
This type of fostering allows time for professionals to explore long term options available, complete any assessments and plan accordingly for their next steps. We are not currently recruiting for this type of fostering.
Family and friends fostering
When parents have difficulties at home, their children may need to be looked after by someone else, for example: a relative, friend or other person who is connected to the children.
These arrangements involved in family and friends fostering can be made directly between parents and their relatives or friends or a social worker may be involved.
Private fostering
Private fostering is when a child or young person under 16 years old (or 18 if they have a disability) is looked after for 28 days or more by someone who is not a close relative, guardian or person with parental responsibility.
Close relatives include parents, step-parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents. You must inform the local authority if you are involved in a private fostering arrangement.