Jenna's Fostering Journey: Home Visit - Changing Futures Fostering
My Fostering Journey February by Changing Futures Fostering

Jenna’s Fostering Journey: Home Visit

Follow Jenna’s journey as she documents her way to becoming a foster parent. This week, Jenna talks about what February looks like, and her home visit with our fostering manager, Sarah.

I had Sarah the fostering manager pop around for a home visit today. We organised it after our initial chat on the phone, and this was so we could meet in person, and get to know a little bit more about myself.

Firstly, we talked a bit more about my motivation to foster. As much as I loved being a teacher, I needed a change. My favourite part of my job was working with children, so I thought being a foster parent would be a great role for me. I’ve worked with a lot of children from different backgrounds, and I knew how important consistency and stability was for their development. Unfortunately, I knew that some young people didn’t have that in their lives. So, I thought, “I can really make a difference here!”

I told Sarah it was a scary step to take, but she said a lot of people feel like that at first. She said it’s important to have a good support network around me, and the agency will support me throughout. That felt reassuring.

We talked a little bit about what’s going on in my life right now. I will be fostering on my own but have plenty of people around me for support. I am very close to my mum and two sisters.  They were very encouraging when I told them I wanted to become a foster parent and said they would be able to support me whenever they could.

We also talked a bit about my home life. I currently live in a three-bedroom house, so I have space for two children. However, as I don’t have any experience yet, I thought it would be best just to have one child, but it is definitely something I can look at in the future. I was a bit nervous as I have a pet dog, Teddy. He is very well behaved around children with children, but I thought it might be a problem. But Sarah assured me it was ok. Children actually love animals, and they can be very therapeutic!

Sarah explained that there were different types of fostering to consider, including short break care. I like the idea of long-term fostering and being a consistent presence, I think.

Sarah then explained to me what the next steps would look like. The agency will now get started with its assessment. This can take a little bit of time, Sarah explained, but it was important the agency got a full picture of my life. It sounded scary at first, but it makes sense. Sarah said I will be supported all the way through.