A Complete Guide To Short Notice, Emergency Fostering
- What is emergency foster care?
- Why are emergency foster care placements needed, and what are the benefits of this fostering service?
- What are the requirements of emergency foster care placements, and how can you become an emergency foster carer?
What Is Emergency Foster Care?
Emergency foster care provides a safe home and environment for vulnerable children and young people who are at immediate risk in their current location or the home of their biological parents. Emergency care is thus arranged by social workers, local authorities, law enforcement and fostering agencies to provide 24/7 temporary care. This is either for a set period of time, whether that is a night or a few nights, whilst a safe place is required or whilst a longer-term plan can be considered.
Why Are Emergency Foster Care Placements Needed, And What Are The Benefits Of This Fostering Service?
Emergency fostering placements are a type of temporary foster care that has the safety of a child or young person as its entire motivation. It provides a foster family, a safe home and full support and care until circumstances change or a permanent home can be found for the young people and young children involved. Fostering agencies take any risk to a child’s safety incredibly seriously, especially immediate risk or an emergency situation, which is why emergency foster placements and emergency carers exist. An emergency placement differs from short breaks or short break care in that it is typically not arranged, and the need can be fulfilled at incredibly short notice. The overriding benefit of emergency foster care is that it ensures the safety of a foster child, protecting their interests.
What Are The Requirements Of Emergency Foster Care Placements, And How Can You Become An Emergency Foster Carer?
Typically, emergency foster carers and foster care placements are required to do 3 additional things:
- A foster parent or carer should be able to provide emergency care at short notice, especially in the case of immediate risk.
- Emergency placements require flexibility on the part of the foster family and the fostering agency. This is because quick decisions need to be made for the sake of vulnerable children and young people, meaning schedules need to be adaptable.
- Foster families providing emergency foster care must have an understanding of the types of scenarios and immediate risk that lead to these situations. Therapeutic training will help ensure they can best deal with complex and challenging situations
Becoming an emergency foster carer involves all the usual stages of becoming a foster parent, with the addition of the 3 points above to ensure that emergency carers are fully prepared for the situations they may face. Whilst incredibly rewarding and necessary, emergency foster care can be challenging and certainly isn’t for everyone. The safety of children and young people remains at the heart of all types of foster care placements, so if you want to make a difference but don’t have the flexibility required to be an emergency foster parent, here are some other types of fostering placements that may work better for you.
At Changing Futures Fostering, we’re an agency that provides a fostering service, all about giving our foster parents the information and support they need to really make a difference in a vulnerable child’s life. If you need any more information about applying to become an emergency foster parent, or about foster care in general, or if you have any other questions or queries, please click here to contact us. Or, please feel free to email us at admin@changingfuturesne.co.uk or give us a call on 01429 363 127 to speak to our brilliant fostering team!