How I Can be a foster in Gloucester | Nov 2022

Fostering Gloucestershire entails taking care of a child as if they were a member of your own family. Being able to care for a child or young person, frequently full-time, and being a UK resident or possessing indefinite leave to remain are requirements for being a foster parent.

Additionally, you must be at least 18 years old, while the majority of foster service providers will insist that you be at least 21. The kind of foster care determines how long you will look after the child. It may last for a single night, several years, or even until the youngster reaches adulthood.

All legal decisions about the minor are made by the state on behalf of the minor through the family court and the Fostering agencies, while the foster parent is in charge of the minor's day-to-day care.

Comparing foster care to the general population, several undesirable consequences are associated with it. Health problems are prevalent in foster children, especially psychiatric diseases like anxiety, sadness, and eating disorders. According to US research, one-third of foster kids experienced maltreatment at the hands of their foster parents or another adult living with them. When they turn 18, nearly half of foster children in the US become homeless, and the poverty rate among former foster children is three times higher than it is in the general population.

Fostering and adopting children from other people has long been an option in the United Kingdom "in the sense of taking other people's children into their homes and looking after them on a permanent or temporary basis." However, before the 20th century, there was no legal basis for any of it. In the UK, a family fostering a child was granted custody by the Chancery Court on the concept of "wardship." Because it did not give the guardian "parental rights," wardship was not a practice that was utilised frequently. The "baby farming scandals" of the 19th century occurred.

A varied group of experts with years of expertise in the UK's fostering industry founded Fostering Families. It seeks to educate, assist, and empower the industry and all related parties with various goods, publications, and services. Fostering Families is open to collaborations with other fostering and family-related organizations and communication from anyone else who would like to get involved or be connected.