Parent and child fostering

Usually parent and child fostering lasts for three months (although it can be longer depending on the needs of the parent and child). Parent and child fostering involves helping parents to learn parenting skills and at the same time safeguarding and supporting their babies and young children. The aim is to enable the parent and child to stay together afterwards.

The parent(s), who can be teenagers or adults ranging from 18 to 40+, live with you during this time and care for their child under your observation and with your help.

Your supervision, advice and support can help parents to develop the necessary skills to care for their child in a positive way that is beneficial to both of them and ensures their safe and healthy future together. Parent and child foster carers would need to have previous experience looking after babies.

As a parent and child foster carer you would be expected to provide a safe home environment and keep records of your observations. You (or your partner if joint foster carers) would need to be available and present at all times to give supervision and support to the parent.

You would need to attend relevant training sessions to ensure you have the right knowledge and skills to be able to assist the parent and child. Your role would also involve advising the parent on how to feed, bathe, and take care of their child; ensuring all of the child’s physical and emotional needs are being met. You may also need to help the parent learn how to manage household chores and finances.

Acting as a role model and giving your personal experience and insight to a struggling parent will help to build their confidence with the aim of enhancing the parent and child relationship.

A requirement to become a foster carer in any fostering situation is the need to have a spare room. For a parent and child fostering arrangement the room would need to have enough space for both the parent and the child. The room would need to be big enough to fit the basic needs for the parent of a bed, wardrobe and drawers, as well as any specific needs the baby or young child may have, for example, a cot with changing mat and storage for clothes, nappies etc.

You will receive additional training and support to ensure that you are fully equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out this role. A professional social worker is always available whenever you need support or guidance via our 24-hour phone line, 7 days a week.

Our current specialist parent and child carers have told us it can be extremely rewarding. Although this type of fostering arrangement can be challenging and intense, it is this type of early intervention that can be life changing for the young person involved.

Keeping families together is the ultimate goal.

Many of the parent and child situations that we have seen would have led to the child being taken into care if not for the support, supervision and care that their parent(s) received through parent and child foster carers.

We’d be happy to talk to you if you wish to explore this further.