Some families are not able to support their children with the love and care they deserve because of their own problems. This is where foster care comes in. More people are becoming open to fostering and the stigma around it is disappearing. It’s a great way to match children with foster caregivers who want to and are able to provide for them. This works out not only for the children but also for the ones fostering.
Types of Foster Care
Every child is different so is the way to handle them. That’s why fostering needs special expertise. Foster care agencies have trainers and mentors who help foster caregivers to give the child under their care the best they can. What are the different types of fostering? Each type needs different handling and skills.
- Long term fostering
In this case, the foster caregivers take care of the child till the child is of age and ready to be independent. The child permanently stays with their foster family, being a part of the family.
- Parent and child fostering
Young inexperienced parents who are facing family problems of their own; need to be fostered with their child. In this case, the foster family hosts the parent and child and helps them to bond.
- Respite care
Children with special needs are put into these kinds of foster homes. Inexperienced parents often feel frustrated, exhausted and unequipped to handle their children. Foster parents have had special training and can take care of these children. Lisa Witter from Perpetual Fostering (perpetualfostering.co.uk) says that fostering agencies encourage new carers to be mentored by more experienced carers. This can be done in a one-on-one setting or in monthly group meetings.
- Short term fostering
When a child needs to be placed in foster care they may be put into a temporary foster home before going back to their families or long term foster parents. This kind of fostering needs expertise as the child may be traumatized from the constant separation and change.
- Emergency fostering
Some children need to be put into foster care immediately. The home they come from cannot provide for them anymore. Such children may be facing trauma and need more love and attention than normal.
- Kinship care
The child is sent under the care of close relatives or acquaintances. These foster caregivers already know the child and have a certain level of comfort with them. This is the most comfortable setting for the child because they don’t have to face total separation. In kinship fostering the custody of the child may be with the parents or the fostering agency.
A child who has to be fostered hasn’t had a normal childhood and needs all the love and attention they can receive. If you as a family feel that you have the means to take care of a child then you should definitely give it a go. Contact a foster agency and they will guide you through the entire process.