{"id":38,"date":"2021-01-21T15:26:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/local.care\/?p=138"},"modified":"2021-02-22T15:29:35","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T15:29:35","slug":"help-support-for-foster-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/?p=38","title":{"rendered":"Help and support for foster parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<section>\n<h3 class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">Help and support for foster parents &#8211;<\/h3>\n<div class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<blockquote>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: 2.44em; font-weight: 600;\">1. Training &amp; Development<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<main id=\"content\" class=\"guide\" lang=\"en\" role=\"main\">\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"guide-print\" class=\"govuk-grid-row\">\n<div class=\"govuk-grid-column-two-thirds\">\n<section>\n<div class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">\n<p>You need to complete the <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/collections\/guidance-for-foster-carers\">training, support, and development standards workbook<\/a> <\/span>within 12 months of being approved to foster.<\/p>\n<p>Contact your fostering service to find out what other training and development is available. They should help you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>with a personal development plan<\/li>\n<li>take part in learning and development sessions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/foster-carers-charter\">Foster Carers\u2019 Charter<\/a><\/span> explains your rights as a foster parent.<\/p>\n<p>You do not have a statutory right to time off work to care for foster children.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re fostering for adoption you\u2019ll be entitled to <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/adoption-pay-leave\">adoption pay and leave<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">f<\/span><\/span>rom when the child comes to live with you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h4 class=\"part-title\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">2. Help with the cost of fostering<\/span><\/h4>\n<section>\n<div class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">\n<p>All foster parents get a foster care allowance to help cover the cost of caring for a child. You might get additional payments, depending on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If the child has specific needs<\/li>\n<li>How many children you\u2019re fostering<\/li>\n<li>Your skills and experience<\/li>\n<li>Your fostering service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Contact your fostering service to find out how much you get.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"minimum-weekly-allowance\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Minimum weekly allowance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The minimum allowance you\u2019ll get depends on where you live and the age of the child you care for.<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 117.26064865171136%; height: 159px;\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.333333333333332%; height: 24px;\">\u00a0<\/td>\n<th style=\"width: 12.5%; height: 24px;\" scope=\"col\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffcc00;\">Age 0 to 2<\/span><\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 13.833333333333334%; height: 24px;\" scope=\"col\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffcc00;\">Age 3 to 4<\/span><\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 15.333333333333332%; height: 24px;\" scope=\"col\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffcc00;\">Age 5 to 10<\/span><\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 24px;\" scope=\"col\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffcc00;\">Age 11 to 15<\/span><\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 24px;\" scope=\"col\"><span style=\"background-color: #ffcc00;\">Age 16 to 17<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 36px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\"><strong><span style=\"background-color: #ff99cc;\">London<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3152<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 13.833333333333334%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3155<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 15.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3174<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3197<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3231<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 36px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\"><strong><span style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\"><span style=\"background-color: #ff99cc;\">South East<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3146<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 13.833333333333334%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3150<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 15.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3166<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3189<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3222<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 36px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\"><strong><span style=\"background-color: #ff99cc;\">Rest of England<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 12.5%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3132<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 13.833333333333334%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3135<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 15.333333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3149<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3170<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.833333333333332%; height: 36px;\">\u00a3198<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>These figures are for the tax year from 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021. They\u2019re updated every April.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"allowance-rates-when-the-child-is-18\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Allowance rates when the child is 18<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Children stop being in care when they reach 18, even if they\u2019re still living with you. There is no minimum allowance when your child is old enough to <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/leaving-foster-or-local-authority-care\">leave foster care<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Contact your fostering service for more information.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"expenses\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Expenses<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You may be able to apply to your fostering service for extra money to help with things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>School trips<\/li>\n<li>Holidays<\/li>\n<li>Birthdays<\/li>\n<li>Religious festivals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h4 class=\"part-title\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">3. Making decisions for your foster child<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Your foster child\u2019s placement plan should tell you what decisions you can make, known as delegated authority.<\/p>\n<p>There are 3 different levels to delegated authority:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Day-to-day decisions like dental check ups, hair cuts, school trips, parent-teacher meetings and letting your child go to sleepovers<\/li>\n<li>Long-term decisions like which school a child goes to<\/li>\n<li>Significant decisions made by the local authority and birth parents, like surgery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your child\u2019s placement plan does not tell you what level of delegated authority you have you should contact your fostering service to find out.<\/p>\n<p>You may not have the same level of authority for each child you foster. For example, you might foster 2 children and have the right to sign a consent form for one of them.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"going-on-holiday\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Going on holiday<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>If you do not have the authority to take your foster child on holiday you\u2019ll need to speak to their social worker.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>tell your child\u2019s social worker when you\u2019ll be going and when you\u2019ll be back<\/li>\n<li>get a letter of consent from your child\u2019s social worker for passport control (if you\u2019re going abroad)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 id=\"medical-treatment-for-your-foster-child\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Medical treatment for your foster child<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>You may not have the right to give consent to medical treatment. Check your child placement plan to find out if you have the authority to let your foster child have:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>medication<\/li>\n<li>a medical examination<\/li>\n<li>local or general anaesthetic<\/li>\n<li>surgery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h4 class=\"part-title\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">4. Getting support<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube\" data-module=\"govspeak\">\n<p>You should get support from your fostering service, your local council and social workers. You can also get support and advice from Fosterline.<\/p>\n<p>Your local council must provide your foster child with a personal adviser from age 16 or 17 to age 25. They will help your foster child move to independent living or support them to stay with you (this is called a \u2018staying put\u2019 arrangement).<\/p>\n<p>Extra support is available <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/leaving-foster-or-local-authority-care\">when your foster child reaches age 16, 18 and 21<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"support-from-your-fostering-service\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Support from your fostering service<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Your foster child gets a placement plan. This tells you about the child and their needs. The fostering service should invite you to meetings on your foster child\u2019s progress and placement plan.<\/p>\n<p>Your family should get:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>access to an out of hours advice and support service<\/li>\n<li>access to support groups<\/li>\n<li>practical, financial and emotional support<\/li>\n<li>training and a personal development plan, which is reviewed every year<\/li>\n<li>an opportunity to take a break from fostering if you need it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 id=\"dealing-with-allegations\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Dealing with allegations<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>If an allegation is made against you or anyone in your home, your local authority must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>investigate it<\/li>\n<li>support you through it<\/li>\n<li>update you on progress<\/li>\n<li>help resolve any disagreements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They may remove your foster child from your home or ask the person the allegation is about to leave. They will also look at the safety of any other children in your home.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"support-from-social-workers\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Support from social workers<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>You\u2019ll have contact with 2 social workers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>your foster child\u2019s social worker &#8211; they make sure you meet the child\u2019s needs<\/li>\n<li>a supervising social worker to help and support you as a foster parent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your supervising social worker is there to support you as a foster parent. Contact them if you need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>emotional support<\/li>\n<li>to talk about any concerns or worries you have about your foster child<\/li>\n<li>help to develop your skills as a foster parent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your social workers must make sure you understand their policies on fostering, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>how to manage your foster child\u2019s behaviour<\/li>\n<li>financial support for foster parents<\/li>\n<li>complaints<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They must review your approval to foster at least once a year to make sure you\u2019re still suitable.<\/p>\n<p>Social workers may decide to have some meetings without you if they think it\u2019s best for the foster child.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"social-worker-visits\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Social worker visits<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Your child\u2019s social worker must visit you and your foster child:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>in the first week the child comes to live with you<\/li>\n<li>once every 6 weeks in the first year<\/li>\n<li>every 3 to 6 months after the child has lived with you for a year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They must also visit you once a year without telling you they\u2019re coming.<\/p>\n<p>You or your foster child can ask for more visits from the social worker.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"ending-a-placement\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Ending a placement<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>You must give 28 days\u2019 notice to your social worker if you no longer wish to be the child\u2019s foster parent.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"support-from-fosterline\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Support from Sure Start<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Call Sure Start Fostering to get advice on fostering.<\/p>\n<div class=\"contact\">\n<h4><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Sure<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Start<\/span> <span style=\"color: #003366;\">Fostering<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">07440246015<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p>We can provide help and advice about fostering, including information about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Finances<\/li>\n<li>Training<\/li>\n<li>Dealing with allegations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/main>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Help and support for foster parents &#8211; \u00a0 1. Training &amp; Development \u00a0 \u00a0 You need to complete the training, support, and development standards workbook within 12 months of being approved to foster. Contact your fostering service to find out what other training and development is available. They should help&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/?p=38\">&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":812,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surestartfostering.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}