Everything You Need To Know
- What is respite foster care?
- What are the benefits of respite fostering?
- How can you become a respite foster parent with Changing Futures?
What Is Respite Foster Care?
Respite fostering is a type of short-term, temporary, or potentially even emergency placement designed to place a foster child or young person with a different foster family. This could be their foster family, adoptive family, or even their birth family. Whatever the situation, respite fostering aims to provide a break for both parents and children, especially when unexpected events happen or stress levels get high. We understand that fostering can be stressful for both you and the children or young people in your care. Therefore, this period of respite is essential to recharge, relax and have a little break from each other.
What Are The Benefits Of Respite Foster Care?
As mentioned above, the main benefit of respite foster care is for everyone to have a short break from each other to destress and recharge their batteries. This is often especially important for foster parents looking after a child with a disability or a higher level of caring needs, as we understand these placements can be more emotionally and physically demanding. Respite foster care also allows the children and young people in your care to have another familiar face who they trust and build a relationship with, as usually the respite carer will be linked to a particular foster child. This again helps to diffuse stress, as there are more individuals involved to help with any issues or challenges. Overall, respite foster care is a vital period of rest and rejuvenation that can have incredibly positive impacts on both children and foster parents, enabling a healthy and happy relationship to be maintained.
How Can You Become A Respite Foster Parent With Changing Futures Fostering?
Becoming a respite parent with Changing Futures Fostering involves a similar training and thorough checking process, much like that of becoming a foster parent. For more information on the fostering process, please feel free to visit this page, where we cover everything you need to know. Once you have applied to be a respite foster carer, the next step is ensuring that you have the correct environment in place to create a home-away-from-home where children feel safe, happy and comfortable. This will follow similar bedroom requirements and safety checks as a standard foster placement, but if you have any queries about this, our Changing Futures team will be happy to help! The main thing is to create a fun, playful environment where children and young people can thrive whilst giving their parents or carers a well-deserved and needed rest, too!
At Changing Futures Fostering, we’re all about providing our foster parents with the information and support they need to really make a difference in a vulnerable child’s life. If you need any more information about respite foster care or how you can become a respite foster parent with Changing Futures, 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!