What foster care is

Foster care is taking care of a 'looked after' child when they cannot stay in their own home or with a kinship carer. A child is 'looked after' when the local council has a legal responsibility for their wellbeing.

You can apply to become a foster carer through your local council, an independent fostering agency or a charity.

Types of foster care

There are many different types of foster care. You may be able to choose the types of foster care you provide. For example, some foster carers decide to do short-term fostering only.

Short-term foster care

Short-term foster care is when you look after a child for a short period of time. It will usually last for less than 12 months but could be longer.

This includes 'short break' foster care - this is when you are giving parents or a child some time away from each other.

Emergency foster care

Emergency foster care is when a child is placed with you at short notice.

Interim foster care

Interim foster care is when either:

• the child plans to go back to live with their parents but they need to spend some time in foster care
• a permanent placement is being found for the child

Interim foster care placements last for less than 2 years.

Longer-term foster care

Longer-term foster care is when you look after a child for more than 2 years.

Permanent foster care

Permanent foster care is when the child lives with you permanently and you have a permanence order from the court. You'll still get the same financial support after a permanence order is granted.