Fostering

What is fostering

Fostering is the process whereby children are placed with families other than their own on a short-term or long-term basis. Unlike adoption, fostering is often a temporary arrangement and many fostered children continue to have contact with their own families and will eventually return to them, although some children may eventually be adopted – either by their foster carer or by another family. Some foster carers offer emergency care at very short notice.

There are regulations about fostering which local authority social work departments must enforce.

Who can be a foster carer

Anyone can apply to be a foster carer if they feel that they would be able to look after a child. There are no upper or lower age limits and single people can foster as well as married or unmarried couples.

Many agencies run introductory courses for prospective foster carers. Details of courses are available from local social work departments.

Local council foster carers

Most fostered children are looked after by local council foster carers. These are people who have applied to the local council or to a voluntary organisation which looks after children to become a foster carer. Once they have been approved, the local council or voluntary organisation will place children with them.

There are also a number of independent foster care agencies in Scotland.

Approval of foster carers

A local council may only place children with approved foster carers. Prospective foster carers will participate in a rigorous assessment process that will take at least six months. Local councils use fostering panels to approve applicants. If the applicant is married, or if care is to be shared by two people, both will be assessed. As part of the approval process, applicants will need to provide two referees, who may be interviewed by the agency, and agree to medical and criminal records check on themselves and all members of their household who are over 18. In an emergency, a child may be placed for a limited period with a non-approved foster carer, if that person is a relative or friend of the child.

Foster care agreement

Once a foster carer has been approved, they enter into an agreement with the local council. This agreement includes details of the support and training to be given to the carer by the local council and arrangements for the child to have contact with family members. The carer must agree to treat the child as if they were a member of the carer's family and not to administer corporal punishment to the child. In turn, the local council must provide the carer with detailed information about the child, including their personal history and their health and educational needs and also the support that will be provided to foster carers.

Review of foster carers

The Agency must carry out a review of foster carers at least once a year, at which the carer will have an opportunity to give their views. As a result of the review, the local council might withdraw its approval of a carer.

Rights of foster carers

Foster carers do not automatically have the same rights with respect to a foster child as the child's parents. They do have day to day responsibility for the care of the child and if the child is the subject of a permanence order, the court that made the order may have granted the foster carers some parental responsibilities and rights towards the child. The rights of the child's parents depend on how the child came to be looked after by the local council.

Find out more about parental responsibility

Find out more about care orders

Rights of children in foster care

A child in foster care has the right to have their views taken into account, depending on the child's age and understanding. In particular, the child should know who is responsible for them within the local council and should be able to discuss any problems with that person.

Fostering allowances

All approved foster carers who are looking after a child will receive a fostering allowance. Local council foster carers should be paid a minimum standard national rate, called the Scottish Recommended Allowance.

Find out more about the Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster carers on the Scottish government website.

Baby Box scheme

All newborn babies in Scotland are entitled to their own Baby Box. Foster parents can register for a Baby Box through their appointed social worker if they’re fostering a child between 0 – 6 months.

The Baby Box contains essential items such as:

• clothing

• an underarm thermometer

• a changing mat

• a mattress to fit the box - with mattress protector and a fitted sheet.

There is more information about the Baby Box, and helpline details, on the Scottish Government's ParentClub website.

End of placements

A local council foster placement will end in one of the following ways:

• the child is old enough to live independently

• the child returns to their parent as part of a planned arrangement

• the child is removed by a parent – if the child is subject to a supervision requirement or order, this can only be done with the local council's approval and must be agreed by the Children's Panel

• the foster arrangement breaks down

• the child is moved by the local council to another placement

• the child is adopted – either by the foster carer or another family.

A foster carer may wish to keep in touch with a child they have fostered. If informal arrangements cannot be agreed, the foster parent may in certain cases be able to apply to court for a contact order.

Find out more about contact orders.

Private foster carers

Some children are looked after by private foster parents. A parent of a child under school leaving age may privately arrange for that child to live with someone who is not a close relative. If this arrangement is to last for at least 28 days it is legally regulated, the carer is known as a private foster carer and the local council must be told about the arrangement.

The local council must check on the suitability of the private foster carer and a social worker should visit the child regularly to ensure that the child is being well looked after. A council may remove a child from a private foster carer at any time if they believe that the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering significant harm.

A person is legally disqualified from acting as a private foster carer if they have:

• been convicted of an offence involving a child

• had their own child taken into local council care

• been refused permission to run a day nursery or to act as a childminder.

In addition, a local council may prevent someone from acting as a private foster carer if:

• they are not a suitable person

• their premises are unsuitable

• the arrangement is not in the child's interests.

If the child is to stay with a carer for less than 28 days or the carer is a close relative, for example, a grandparent, the arrangement is not legally regulated and it is not necessary to inform the local council about the arrangement even if the carer is paid. This type of arrangement can be ended at any time by the child's parent.

The Fostering Network

The Fostering Network provides information about all aspects of becoming a foster carer through its confidential Fosterline Scotland service.