The Fostering Family Finding Team

This team brings together our children and our foster carers. Each day the small team receive request forms from children's social workers across Lancashire.

The team use information about our approved foster carers to check who might be able to care for the child or children.

They will be looking firstly at who has the physical space e.g. spare bedroom space available currently.

They will look at preferences but will not rule out available carers on this basis. The placements team often need to work urgently to find a suitable fostering family for a child. They will contact foster carers to give some details about the child/children and see if a potential match for the child has been found.

Questions to ask when the placements team contacts you

Basics

Age (date of birth), gender, number of children
Do you have enough bedrooms/beds/cots to fit all children comfortably?
Can you fit the car seats/booster seats in the car?

What type of fostering is needed?

Task centred – up to two years whilst assessments are completed of family members.
Permanent? – up to 18 years of age (or twenty-one with staying put agreement).
Parent and child?

Where is the child's home area?

How far will you need to travel for school runs and family time sessions?
Will you be able to manage school runs for your own family and the child – i.e. are they in different directions?
How often will children see their family? Are there any set days/times which you cannot take them on?

Education and nursery

Are they in nursery, school, college, training?
Are they currently attending?
If this is a long term/permanent placement will there be a consideration of changing school in the future?

Health

Do they have any known allergies? (e.g. pets?)
Do they have any medical conditions?
Do they take any regular medication?
Do they require wheelchair access?

Background information

What has happened that means they need to live with a fostering family? Have the children been removed from family recently? Have they been in other foster families?
Do we know if they have experienced trauma? If so what type? Have any specific behaviours been observed that you need to know about?
Family – does the child have any brothers or sisters? If they do where are they living?

Risks

Are there any identified risks in relation to the child's family?

Miscellaneous

Is there anything else relevant that I need to know?

For infants

What formula do they currently take?
What size nappies do they wear?
For new-borns - are there any signs that they are withdrawing from alcohol/substances following birth?

How you can can help the placement making team

As you can appreciate our placement making team have to contact foster carers to find the right match for our children. You can greatly assist them by:

Responding to missed calls in a timely fashion
Seeking any advice from your supervising or assessing social worker quickly so that you can advise the placement making team quickly if you do not feel able to provide a child, or children, with a place in your home.

Finally – and most importantly – keeping an open mind!

Most people come to fostering with an 'idea' of who they might like to foster. We urge our foster carers to keep an open mind about our children. They are all unique and wonderful. We will support you to build your confidence in caring for children who have experienced difficult starts to life but in return we ask that you keep an open mind about 'who' you foster.