Short-term fostering provides short-term care to children whose parents may be experiencing special or emergency needs of their own. Children stay with their foster carers for several weeks or months until they can either return home, or move to a permanent placement.
As a short-term foster carer, you may be
- helping a foster child to rebuild a relationship with a parent after a crisis or breakdown in family relationships
- supporting a child through the process of court proceedings
- helping a child to build a completely new relationship with an adoptive or long-term foster family
- providing foster care for a few nights because a parent has had to go into hospital.
During the placement the foster carer and their supervising social worker will work with the local authority social worker to plan for the foster child's longer term future. The plan might mean that the short term placement becomes the child's permanent placement, if that is what everyone agrees is the right outcome.
Short-term fostering is used for children of all ages, up to 18 years old (or 19 if the child has a disability).
If you are interested in becoming a foster carer please contact us by email fostering@stchris.org.uk, phone 0800 234 6282, or register online.
Or for more information on making placements with St Christopher's fostering services please click here or contact us on 0800 234 6282 or at fosteringduty@stchris.org.uk.