Parent and child fostering involves looking after both a parent and their child within your home. The aim is to help young or vulnerable parents who need support in learning how to safely care for their baby, young child or children. You will be providing guidance, assistance and supervision in a safe environment.
Debs is one of our specialist Parent and Child Foster Parents and shares more about the role and her experiences;
Who needs parent and child fostering?
Young parents, parents with learning difficulties, who have been subject to domestic violence or parents struggling with mental health or addiction issues may require this type of support. The fostering placement allows social services to assess the parenting skills of the parent, ensuring the child’s welfare is being met while offering the parent guidance with the aim of upskilling them to be able to safely parent independently in the future.
What does the foster parent do?
This will depend on the issues identified by social services which led them to consider the need for a parent and child placement. It could include practical support to the parent in areas such as:
- Helping with baby care and routines.
- Offering guidance on child development.
- Supporting the parent with any emotional or mental health challenges.
- Ensuring both the parent and child are safe and well cared for.
How long does parent and child fostering last?
This depends on the individual circumstances and the support needed by the parent and child as determined by social services. Most commonly, parents and their children will stay with you for 4-6 months, although time frames are often extended if parents are doing well but need more time with you.
How much will I be paid?
You will receive £926.81 per week in this role, if more than one parent were joining you, or if there were more than one child, this figure would be higher. This is a full time role – social services will have deemed that there are concerns around the parents ability to safely care for the child and they will therefore initially need to be supervised at all times. As time passes and skills develop or grow, parents are likely to be given ever increasing levels of independence and time unsupervised to prepare them to care for their child independently.