There are different types of fostering as children in care have varying situations and needs. Throughout the assessment process we'll discuss which type of fostering may best suit you.
Short-term fostering
Short-term foster carers are needed to look after children in a variety of situations. This could be for an overnight or weekend stay in an emergency whilst arrangements are made to ensure the child’s safety. However, short-term carers usually provide care for longer periods, which could be a few weeks, months or sometimes up to 2 years.
They often provide care for children when support is being provided and assessments are being undertaken with families, to help decide what permanent arrangements are best for the child. Carers will also need to support children to regularly attend contact sessions with their birth families to promote relationships whilst decisions are being made.
Emergency fostering
We need more carers to help a child in an emergency. Although emergency foster caring can be unpredictable and demanding, it can also be extremely rewarding. Being there for a child at a time when they need you the most and having the opportunity to offer safety and kindness to a vulnerable young person is a real privilege that makes fostering worthwhile.
What is emergency fostering?
When a child or children needs to leave their family home or care provider at short notice, sometimes in the middle of the night, they need someone to look after them until the best and most appropriate longer-term care can be found.
Emergency foster carers provide children with somewhere safe and nurturing to stay for about 10 days. This allows time for the crisis to calm and for the child, family and professionals across social care, health and education to consider how best to meet the child’s needs.
These carers play a crucial role in offering somewhere safe and nurturing to stay for children who need immediate help.
What support will I get as an emergency foster carer?
As an emergency foster carer you’ll get lots of support, including:
- access to core training and seminars
- monthly supervision and monthly hub support group
- a dedicated WhatsApp group for advice and guidance from social workers and practitioners
- access to the social work out of hours support line and the Emergency Duty line which will enable 24/7 support.
- a £75 retainer per day regardless of if a child is in placement. You will then be paid the child’s allowance and skills once a child/ren are placed.
What is expected of emergency foster carers?
As an emergency foster carer, you’ll be expected to:
- be available throughout the week and be able to commit to the children in your care
- be available to care for a child aged 0-18 and not have any other children in placement
- have existing skills of managing children in a crisis and have resilience to manage emergency placement
- prepare the child to move to a new placement or transition back home to birth family
“As an emergency foster carer, you do need to be quite resilient and really flexible because you don’t know when you’re going to need to look after that child and you’ve got to manage all different types of behaviours, but we’ve got a really good support network at Hertfordshire County Council with four support workers.” - Lisa, emergency foster carer.
How to apply or find out more
If you want to become an emergency foster carer or learn more, email fostering.recruitment@hertfordshire.gov.uk or call 0800 917 0925.
Information for existing foster carers
Hertfordshire Emergency Foster Carers hub (PDF 4.18MB)
Long-term fostering
Not all children in care will be able to return to their own families so we need to find them a permanent home, where they have the option to stay until they are able to live independently. In some cases, particularly for younger children, permanent homes will be found through adoption.
However, for other children a long-term foster home is a preferred option, usually where children are 7 years and above and when they have an established relationship and identity with their birth families. Long-term carers will support the child to attend contact sessions with family members, usually between 4-6 times a year.
Sleepover care
We need carers who can offer weekend breaks to older children, to support their long-term placements. Having some regular time and space away can be beneficial for both children and carers, improving relationships and sustaining fragile placements. This valuable service may suit people who are unable to commit to full-time fostering. We welcome enquiries from people able to offer short breaks for at least one weekend a month or during school holidays.
Trauma Focused fostering
We need patient, dedicated and motivated specialist foster carers who can offer care and support to children and young people with very complex needs or challenging behaviour. Specialist fostering may suit you best if you:
- are available full time and can be at short notice
- have a spare room in your home
- have at least 2 years' experience working with children or vulnerable adults
- ideally, have no other children in your household
- can offer a structured and supportive environment, providing empathy, warmth and understanding
- understand how trauma can affect a child's emotional health and behaviour
- can work as part of a team which includes therapists, social workers, youth offending teams and other services for children and young people
- want to learn, develop your skills and be an active member of the team of professionals.
Training, pay and support
We offer up to £642 a week and excellent training in the Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC) model. This model helps carers understand the impact of trauma and attachment difficulties on children and young people. This training will also give you support in developing positive strategies to support the complex emotional needs of children requiring specialist fostering placements.
As an ARC Specialist foster carer, you'll have 24/7 support, respite breaks, a dedicated supervising social worker and access to a specialist foster carer support group.
Separated Migrant Children
This group of young people are usually teenagers who have experienced separation from their families. They are often vulnerable and have witnessed or experienced traumatic events in their past. They need safe, stable homes with foster carers in Hertfordshire who understand their specific needs and are able to promote their cultural and ethnic heritage.
Intensive fostering
We need intensive foster scheme (IFS) carers to provide specialist care for children who would otherwise be cared for in residential children’s homes.
You can qualify as an IFS carer if:
- at least one carer in your household is home full-time
- you have a spare bedroom
- no children under 18 live at home.
What is the intensive fostering scheme?
The intensive fostering scheme aims to provide safe and nurturing homes for children who would otherwise be in residential care. The scheme follows principles similar to the Mockingbird Family Model which creates a valuable support system for children and their foster carers.
Intensive fostering involves a small group of six foster households. These households are made up of either experienced foster carers or new carers who have the necessary experience and skills to care for children. The goal is to provide a more focused and supportive environment for children who meet the criteria for this intensive fostering scheme.
What support will I get as an IFS carer?
As an IFS carer you'll get lots of support, including:
- meetings every 2 weeks with a fostering senior practitioner for the first 6 months after a child is placed with you.
- access to group and one-on-one support sessions led by the therapeutic parenting practitioner.
- an 8-week individual training program and ongoing support tailored to your needs.
- a dedicated IFS outreach worker assigned to your child who provides planned and emergency support.
- enhanced payments, including £1000 per week as a skills payment, an age-related child allowance when caring for a child, and additional allowances like mileage expenses outlined in our payment policy.
What is expected of IFS carers?
As an IFS carer, you'll be expected to:
- provide a high standard of care to children who may display a significant level of dysregulation and distress, with acceptance, warmth and nurturing support.
- be child-focused and advocate for the child in your care.
- stick with the child, providing unconditional stability even during periods of high-level stress and challenge.
- support children who may struggle to engage with or attend education.
- enjoy learning new approaches to parent therapeutically.
- work with the child’s birth family and other professionals.
- join the community of carers and children by attending support groups, events, and training.
- help develop the IFS scheme, including mentoring new carers.
How to apply or find out more
If you want to become an intensive foster carer or learn more, email fostering.recruitment@hertfordshire.gov.uk or call 0800 917 0925.
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