If you have established yourself as a foster carer and are going to be primarily focusing on short-term care, then this guide is for you. These tips focus on how short-term foster carers can enhance their environments and make sure that the time they get with the young people in their home is really meaningful. Here’s what you need to know.
The Value of Short-Term Foster Homes
While all children come into care on a short-term basis, there are certain factors that keep it short term. For example, somebody needs a place to live before they step into adulthood, or a birth family needs respite care because a parent is in hospital. All foster care placements start off short-term until care proceedings have taken place and a long-term plan is put into place. Even in these circumstances, you can still make an impact on the young person before they leave, providing them with a home that is safe, warm, and well established.
Offer a Loving Home
These types of placements can last anywhere from a few days to a few months to 2 years, and you have to be ready for anything. Even in a short-term foster placement, children need plenty of love and support for as long as they are a part of your family, therefore it is important to give your all and show up authentically, so a foster child feels loved and part of a family. And remember, short-term placements can also turn into long-term foster placements.
Understand the Expectations
Always talk to your agency about what you are and are not allowed to do. Whether this is a short-term foster placement of a long-term one, you will still have to ask permission from your foster agency to take a child on holiday or have their hair cut. Make sure you know what is expected of you and where the support is just in case you need to move through something official. This can get confusing, but there is always someone close by to answer any questions and help you figure things out; just ask your foster agency for advice.
Decide on Your Speciality
Some people like to offer their services to a range of scenarios, and others prefer to stick with one branch of fostering. Short-term care arrangements are versatile and vary in terms of format and requirements. So, you may be available for an emergency sibling pairing, but you might not want to train to become a specialist mother and baby foster parent. This is an important distinction to establish before you get properly started and is absolutely worth talking through with your agency. There are many perks to short term fostering, but ultimately, if you are not comfortable, then no one at home will feel the benefits.
So, short-term foster care is a great type of care to provide. Not only do you have the opportunity to work with lots of young people who need support, but you also have flexible options and brilliant support avenues too.
*This is a collaborative post