Foster carers are ordinary people who open up their hearts and homes to provide care to other people’s children. Some children/young people need to live in foster care for a short period of time whilst others need a home for a longer period of time. It is difficult to be specific about timescales as this depends on the family circumstance of the child/young person. Some children cannot return home to live with their parent/s and they move from the foster carer’s home to adoptive families. When children/young people are placed in foster care by social services they are referred to as ‘Looked After Children’ (LAC).
Foster carers are involved in helping children/young people keep in touch with their parents, extended family, friends and local community.
There is an opportunity to learn more about what foster carers do before making a commitment by participating in a free three day information course run by the agency.