1. FOSTERING. SCRIPT

2. Becoming A Foster Carer You can be a foster carer: Whether you have your own children or not. If you are single, married or living with a partner. If you are in or out at work. Whether you live in your own home or rent. Whatever your race and religion is.

3. Types Of Fostering Emergency – foster carers will need to be prepared to take a child into their home at any time of the day or night and have them stay for a few days. Example of use: a single parent is taken to hospital and there is no one to look after the child then this is when they will go to a emergency foster carer until there parent is out of hospital. Short term – this can mean anything from an overnight stay to a period of several months. Short term foster carers provide a temporary place to stay until the child can return home. Long term – sometimes children will not be able to go back to live with their own families for a number of years/at all. Long term fostering allows the child to stay in a family were they feel safe/secure, whilst maintaining contact with their parent’s.

4. Types of fostering - continued Respite – also known as ‘short break’ or ‘shared care’ this covers a variety of different types of part time care. Which is were you might have a child stay for a few hours a week or a couple of weekends a month giving the child’s family/full time foster carer/s a break. Parent and baby – specially trained foster carers will take both mother and baby into their home and provide them with care and support and teach them how to care for their baby.

5. How is fostering different from adoption? Adoption is where a new family is provided for children who can no longer live withtheir own family. Adoption is the best option for a minority of children. An adoption order transfers the child’s legal relationship from their birth family to the new adoptive family.

6. What Do Foster Carer’s Do? Provide support. Attend foster carer meetings. Manage their behaviour. Promote contact with the child’s family. Commit time and energy.

7. How To Provide Care To provide care for a foster child you have to provide: Love , Comfort, Listening , Patience, Food, Clothing and Warmth. To promote positive health care you have to: Consult the Doctor and Hospital when necessary. Consult the Dentist and Optician regularly. To promote a positive view of the child’s family and background: You may feel very angry with the child’s parent’s, But it is still important to acknowledge the child’s feelings. Allow the child to have contact with their parent’s without making the child feel that they must choose between them and you. To promote education: Take interest in child’s Homework, School Events, Listen to them read and Read them bedtime stories.

8. Video and handout Show video clip and hand round my handout