Fostering

All kinds of people foster. People often think that they can't foster because they're single, work full-time or are too old, but none of these things matter.

You need to be over 21 and have a spare room, but most importantly, you need to have the right skills and qualities to provide the best possible care for vulnerable local children.

You can foster...

• If you're married, single, gay or straight.
• If you own your home or rent.
• If you work full-time, part-time, are self employed, unemployed or retired.
• If you're aged over 21 and are fit enough to care for a child or teenager.
• Whether you're disabled or not - all applicants have a medical to assess their fitness to care for a child
• Whatever your ethnicity, religion or culture.

Your skills

What we're really interested in are the skills and qualities you could bring to fostering. You will need to be:

• Patient, committed and resilient.
• A good listener and able to understand how children behave when they've been emotionally or physically hurt.
• Available to look after a child before and after school, during holidays or when the child is sick.
• Active and have a healthy lifestyle.
• Experienced in care, whether it's bringing up your own children, or working with children or vulnerable adults.

Your family

It's vital that you have the support of your family, as they will play an important part in making any placement. If you have children, they will need to be asked if they want to be involved in fostering, as it affects them as well. It's a decision that affects everybody, but everybody can benefit, too.

Other information

While having a criminal record will not necessarily prevent you from fostering, we will need to know whether you or any member of your household has a police record or is known to social services. This is so we can make sure that a child will be safe in your care. However, you will not be approved to foster if you or any member of your household has a criminal record of offences against children.

If you are a smoker, we wouldn't place a child under five years of age with you.

As a foster carer you will need to:

• Make sure the child has a healthy lifestyle, attends school and receives any educational or medical support they need.
• Establish a routine and set boundaries for behaviour.
• Enable the child to maintain contact with their family.
• Help the child build healthy relationships with others.
• Speak up on the child's behalf to make sure they receive the care and support they are entitled to.
• Work as part of a team with other care professionals.
• Keep written records about the child.

There are several types of foster care you could provide, depending on what works best for you and your family.

We will work with you to decide what age group, gender or number of children you're best suited to look after.

Brothers and sisters

It's really important for brothers and sisters to stay together, so we need foster carers prepared to look after more than one child. It can be very distressing for children to be separated from their adult family members, so we need to make sure brothers and sisters can comfort and support each other at such a difficult time.

Teenagers

Being a teenager can be a confusing, emotional and challenging time for any child, and going through family breakdown or upheaval can make life difficult for some. It is vital vulnerable teenagers get the support and stability they need to help them become well-adjusted adults.

Short-term fostering

Most of the children who need foster care require a place to stay for a short period, usually between three months and two years. This is while their situation is assessed and long-term arrangements are made, whether the children are going back to their families or moving on to adoption. Foster carers need to be able to make children feel safe and at home during this time, and to help day-to-day life carry on as well as possible.

Permanent fostering

Sometimes, children are unable to return to live with their family and will either be placed with adopters or looked after by foster carers until they reach adulthood. Providing stability, care and support throughout childhood is one of the most rewarding aspects of permanent or long-term foster care, helping vulnerable children grow into happy and secure young adults.

Emergency fostering

Sometimes children need somewhere to stay at very short notice and for just a few days. This could start at the weekend or in the middle of the night, so carers offering emergency placements need to be flexible.

Respite fostering

Carers and parents need breaks too, so respite fostering gives those looking after children the chance to spend time focusing on their own lives and relax for a weekend or a few days.

Family-based overnight short breaks

Parents or carers of disabled children may need regular breaks, sometimes over a long period of years, to support them in the task of bringing up their child. If you have a particular interest in, or experience of working with disabled children, then being a short breaks carer could be for you.

Our  family-based overnight short breaks scheme leaflet (pdf / 215 KB) (pdf / 215 KB) has more information.

Family and friends foster care

If you're looking after the child of a relative or friend on a full-time basis, either temporarily or permanently, then this is called family and friends foster care.

No Wrong Door fostering

No Wrong Door is an exciting and innovative programme that is designed to improve radically the life chances of some of our most vulnerable and challenging young people, and reduce the numbers ending up either homeless or in the criminal justice system.

We aim to break the traditional cycle of young people entering the care system in their teenage years, following a path of multiple placements, periods in residential care and placement breakdown. Our hubs are in Harrogate and Scarborough, and these replace former council run children's homes in the county.

• No Wrong Door Hub Community Families. Fostering our most vulnerable young people is an incredible journey - we need foster carers who are available full time and have experience of working with or fostering young people with complex and challenging behaviour. In return we offer a generous fee, support from a great team and the reward of knowing you are making a real difference to the life of a teenager.
• No Wrong Door Supported Lodgings Hosts. If you enjoy making a difference, becoming a host is a great way to earn an additional income. It's not as hands-on as fostering, so suits people who may be working full or part-time. You're not offering a permanent home, but somewhere for a young person to stay until they're ready to live alone.

​Both roles also offer an additional opportunity of paid work in one of our children's homes, along with excellent training and development opportunities.

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children in North Yorkshire

Local authorities across the country are taking part in the resettlement of unaccompanied asylum seeking children - young people aged under 18 who are applying for asylum and have no relative or guardian in this country.

It is estimated that on average two or three unaccompanied asylum seeking children a month will be arriving in North Yorkshire over the next couple of years, fleeing conflict or persecution in countries including Afghanistan and Eritrea. Some have been living in camps in Northern Europe. These children and young people are arriving with few belongings and sometimes little grasp of the English language.

On arrival, they undergo an assessment to ensure they are placed in a safe and secure family environment that is the best fit for them. With the estimated numbers of children, Fostering North Yorkshire now needs foster carers who have the skills, compassion and willingness to care for one of these young people who have already been through a lot in their lives.

Foster carers for these children will need to be welcoming, open to learning about new cultures, and able to nurture and encourage them to settle in to life in a new country. Our locally based social work teams, networks of foster carers and quality training will ensure you receive all the support you need. Plus our usual competitive financial packages are in place.

So, if you are able to give time to help a child or young person and you have space in your home to do so, please contact us on 01609 534654 to find out more about fostering asylum seeking children who are separated from their families. You really will be making an enormous difference!

'Fostering has its challenges, but I wouldn't change it for the world'

Fostering provides stability and a safe and caring environment for children who, for whatever reason, are unable to live with their own families. Many need to be looked after for a short period before returning to their family; others need to stay in foster care for much longer. 

All our foster carers have their own stories of their experience of fostering.  They tell of ups and downs, successes and failures, but all have one thing in common - a heartfelt desire to give a young person the childhood they deserve.

"If you come across problems ... there are so many people there to help"

Some children and young people need permanent foster placements that they will stay in for the rest of their childhood. The support, encouragement and understanding our foster carers give the child they are looking after helps them to learn to see life more positively, start to trust, and develop social skills.

Joanne and Ellie are mother and daughter who have an experienced background of what life is like looking after children and young people from across the county through Fostering North Yorkshire.

Jo, who has three birth children of her own, has been fostering for six years with great support from her family. Looking after children and young people from across North Yorkshire, Jo has become passionate about fostering.

Whilst looking after young children during the current crisis and national lockdown, Jo says things have been slightly different but that hasn’t had a negative impact for her or the children. 

 “At the moment, things are very different to the way we used to foster as we are in lockdown, so for the children who need regular routine, their world has been turned upside down. But the children that we are looking after are absolutely thriving.

“Whilst we are in lockdown, it has given us lots of time together as a family and lots of time to bond. We have lots of time for dog walking and adventures in the woods and basically finding out what each of us enjoy.”

Each year Fostering North Yorkshire cares for over 300 children and young people with families all across the county. FNY is proud of the support it gives foster carers, by providing training and support from locally based social work teams.

Jo has fostered 17 children during her six years’ experience, this has included short term and long term arrangements, respite fostering and sibling groups. With a lot of experience, Jo has certainly encountered the emotional side to fostering and saying goodbye to a child in her care.

“There are obviously times during this experience when a child does move on, although it’s hopefully a happy event and we do celebrate this with the child, as they’re moving on to a new family or perhaps back home to their own family. It is emotional when they leave us and it’s great when they keep in touch and we can see them afterwards, they do become part of your family so it’s lovely to still be able to see them or keep in touch.”

Jo’s daughter Ellie, was 15 at the time her mum started her fostering journey and supported her every step of the way.

“Mum has looked after many different children, it’s something I always look back on with really fond memories and feel very proud to be a part of.

“It’s always a sad moment when children leave our care but it’s more bearable knowing that in the majority of cases they were going on to their forever home. Looking back on this experience when I was living at home, it’s the little things I miss, like the big smiley faces that were waiting to greet you when you came back home and the endless amounts of love shared in our household.”

The main role of a foster carer is to provide a safe, secure and happy home for a child who needs it.

There are some key responsibilities as well.

As a foster carer you will need to:

• Make sure the child has a healthy lifestyle, attends school and receives any educational or medical support they need;
• Establish a routine and set boundaries for behaviour;
• Enable the child to maintain contact with their family;
• Help the child build healthy relationships with others;
• Speak up on the child's behalf to make sure they receive the care and support they are entitled to;
• Work as part of a team with other care professionals; and
• Keep written records about the child.

Our  Guide to Fostering (pdf / 6 MB) has lots of useful information if you are considering fostering in North Yorkshire.

No Wrong Door

No Wrong Door is a new way of providing support to young people who are within or on the edge of the care system.

Private Fostering

Private fostering is where children and young people are looked after by someone who is not a parent or relative for more than 28 days.