- Foster Carer Enquiries: 0800 023 4561
- General Enquiries: 0800 085 2225
Will fostering affect my children
Introducing another person into the family will inevitably have some sort of impact on the household. After all, it’s asking a lot for a child to share their parents and their home with a stranger.
Yet foster carer's own children can often hold the key to a successful placement.
FCA believes becoming a foster carer involves everyone in the household, including children, and relies on working together and communication – both within the family and through the wider FCA support network. You can expect disagreements – it’s only natural – but at FCA, we strive to ensure that in fostering there will also be fun, friendship and fond memories.
Supporting children and young people who foster
FCA takes every measure to ensure the happiness and reassurance of existing children in foster families.
- As part of the foster carer assessment process, there will be a meeting between the Social Worker and any other children in the family – allowing children to openly discuss their thoughts and feelings.
- Through our network of local offices, FCA ensures that foster carer's children have easy access to the family’s Supervising Social Worker and other young people in the area who are also part of a fostering family.
- Many areas have specific birth children groups offering support and the opportunity for birth children to talk and share their experiences.
We also recognise that it's important for sons and daughters and their parents to spend time together without foster children vying for attention, and subsequently ensure that each family has access to respite provision.
To read about thoughts and feelings of Children and Young People who foster, take a look at 'We Foster 2' (available to download from the right hand side of this page).
FCA supports children and young people who foster as part of our extended support services. Do you want to learn about the other types of support that foster carers receive?
