Fostering in Northern Ireland

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> Legislation
> Standards
> Policy and practice
> Foster carers
> Foster carer recruitment and retention
> Foster carer assessment
> Foster carer training
> Professionalisation of foster care
> Children who foster

First questions

See our information for prospective foster carers.

Legislation

• The Foster Placement (Children) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Standards

• Children Order Series of Regulations and Guidance Volume 3: Family Placements and Private Fostering:
  http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk

Policy and practice

There is an increasing focus on improving services provided for vulnerable children and young people and developing good practice in the provision of foster care. Several useful reviews of policy and practice have been published in the last few years and a selection of these are listed below:

• The Social Care Institute for Excellence Knowledge provide a good introduction and overview of the issues involved in foster care policy and practice. Visit their website for Reviews 4 and 5 here. Also see their online practice guide to fostering.
• Following a major study into the effective provision of foster care, the Department for Education and Skills has published a series of leaflets summarising the key lessons to be learned from the research http://www.dfes.gov.uk.
  The series includes:
  - Messages for local authority elected members
  - Messages for social workers and other professionals working with looked after children and their families, and foster carers
• Research in Practice has published a set of 12 service development exercises as part of a package of materials associated with the 'Fostering now' research review by Ian Sinclair. Each of the 12 exercises is based on specific research findings linked to a practical theme, and they are designed "to help practitioners, managers and elected members use the findings from the research in a meaningful way". Download the exercises from the Research in practice website (pdf format).
• Also see BAAF's practice notes.

Foster carers

Foster carers are a valuable resource, working with local authorities and agencies to provide care for some of the most troubled children in the care system. This section looks at ways of encouraging people to become foster carers, the training required to equip foster carers with the necessary skills, and how foster carers can best be supported in their role.

Foster carer recruitment & retention

There is a serious shortage of foster carers in the UK. According to surveys carried out by the Fostering Network, around 8,000 new foster carers are required to meet the demand for placements and provide children and young people with the stability they need. Efforts are being made to recruit new carers through national campaigns and using publicity materials. Attention is also being paid to retaining existing carers, with a greater emphasis on providing training and support, and offering adequate rewards for carers' time and skills. Below are resources on recruitment. Issues of training and support are addressed in the sections below.

• Foster Care Fortnight is a national recruitment campaign co-ordinated by the Fostering Network.
• A 'Fostering Publicity Pack', designed as part of the Choice Protects programme, includes practical advice on recruiting and retaining carers, and artwork that can be used by local authority fostering teams. Packs can be ordered using this DFES web form
• 'Foster Carers: Scotland's Unsung Hero's' http://www.scotland.gov.uk
  /library3/social/fost.pdf is a guide to fostering written by the Scottish Executive. It is designed to promote the important work done by foster carers, and to encourage more people to consider this type of work.
• The BAAF/LGA Black and Minority Ethnic Carers Recruitment Project aims to recruit carers from black and minority ethnic communities in London by assisting, encouraging and supporting potential carers through the application process.

Further reading:

• 'Recruitment and Retention of Foster Carers' was the first research briefing in the Research in Practice Champions for Children series. It outlines the key message from research and gives examples of good practice. http://www.rip.org.uk
• BAAF Practice Note 18: Recruiting Black Families is a guide to strategies for recruiting black families, based on the experiences of agencies which have had success in this area.
• BAAF Practice Note 35: Working with the Media offers useful guidance on working effectively in partnership with the media.

Foster carer assessment

Local authorities or fostering agencies are required by law to carry out a full assessment of applicants before approving them as foster carers. The information to be collected and required checks, are detailed in the regulations and standards applicable to each country, shown on this page.

BAAF Form F is an assessment tool used by the majority of agencies in the UK with prospective foster carers or adopters. It covers all of the areas that must be considered during the assessment, preparation and training of carers, and also provides a standard way of collecting, analysing and presenting information.

Further reading:

• Practice Note 43: Checking Applicants to Foster or Adopt in Scotland Comprehensive guide to all essential checks including police, local authority, medical reports, references and factual information. Also covers specific issues such as financial security, health and safety, timing of checks and updates.
• Practice Note 44: Assessing Lesbian and Gay Foster Carers and Adopters Addresses questions and challenges that may arise during the assessment process or when panels and agencies are considering the assessment report.
• 'Evidence Based Foster Carers Assessments' (powerpoint presentation) presented by Jane Asquith at the 2005 International Foster Care Organisation Madison Conference
• 'Assessing New Foster Carers Potential To Carry Out The Fostering Task' (powerpoint) presented by Jane Asquith and Pat Beesley at the 2004 International Foster Care Organisation European Training Seminar in Prague
• 'Form F and Fostering: Assessing New Foster Carers Potential To Carry Out The Fostering Task' (powerpoint presentation, 221 kb) was presented by Felicity Collier and Jane Asquith at the 2003 International Foster Care Association conference in Argentina.

Training

The provision of foster care training has traditionally been very patchy, with many carers only receiving training during the preparation stage. However, there is increasing awareness of the importance of ongoing training and development for foster carers who face considerable challenges in caring for children and young people with complex needs.

See BAAF's training related to foster care.

Further reading:

• Fostering unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugee children: a training course for foster carers. Selam Kidane BAAF 2004
• Parenting a child who has been sexually abused: a training programme for foster carers and adopters. Hellett and Simmonds BAAF 2003
• Learn the child: helping looked after children to learn: a good practice guide for social workers, carers and teachers. Kate Cairns and Chris Stanway BAAF 2004
• Providing a Secure Base in Long-Term foster Care. Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield BAAF 2004

Professionalisation of foster care

Perceptions of fostering have changed greatly in recent years. Due to earlier intervention and increased family support, fewer children are coming into the care system, but those who do are likely to have experienced considerable trauma or have complex needs and as a result. This changing role means that foster carers are now becoming valued as skilled professionals who deserve to be rewarded for their time and skills.

Further reading:

• 'Fostering: Skills protect' is BAAF's position statement outlining a vision of a professional foster care service.
• 'Skills protect': towards a professional foster care service by Barbara Hutchinson, Jane Asquith and John Simmonds was published in the Autumn 2003 issue of our journal Adoption & Fostering
• BAAF Children Bill briefings for minimum foster care allowances
• The Strategic Development of Foster Care (powerpoint presentation) presented by Jane Asquith and Pat Beesley at the 2004 International Foster Care Organisation European Training Seminar in Prague.

Children who foster

Although foster carers should be well trained, prepared and supported before the placement of a child, the needs of the foster carers birth children are not always taken into consideration. However, it is becoming recognised that birth children have an important role to play in the care of foster children, and will face significant challenges during the placement. They will need to be prepared to share their home, belongings and their parents with children moving into the family. Although birth children report many positive experiences of fostering, they can also find it difficult to cope with the behaviour of foster children and the attention their parents give to the children they care for.

Several studies have examined what measures would help birth children, and common recommendations include consulting with birth children about the decision to bring foster children into the family, keeping them informed before and during the placement, and providing support mechanisms so they can talk about any difficulties and share experiences with other children in the same situation.

Further reading:

• We are fostering by Jean Camis is a workbook published by BAAF designed to help birth children understand their role in a fostering family
• Seen but not heard? Addressing the needs of Children who foster by Gill Pugh was published in Adoption and Fostering (20(1), Spring 1996)
• How do 'Children who foster' perceive fostering? by Wendy Spears and Melane Cross was published in Adoption and Fostering (27(4), Winter 2003)