Can I work and foster?

Are you interested in fostering but unsure if you could work whilst fostering?

It is often possible to work and foster, particularly if caring for children of school age or teenagers. Depending on the needs and age of children it may be possible to work full-time, it just needs to be flexible so fostering can be your priority.

A child’s wellbeing will always be our number one priority, children under 5 can’t be in full-time day-care and it’s not appropriate for school-aged children to be attending breakfast and afterschool clubs although sports and homework club are acceptable.

Many employers are now Fostering Friendly which means they understand and respect employees’ fostering commitments. It’s also possible for a lot of employees to work from home thanks to advances in technology and changes in attitude towards the way we work. Fostering can work well for people who can manage their own diary, who can work from home or are self-employed. As a foster carer, you need to be able to take children to and from school and family time, attend meetings, training and support groups.

Children under 5 need a full time carer, some of our foster carers caring for this age range of children will work ad-hoc hours or part time and their partner shares caring responsibilities, other foster carers do not work.

There are different types of fostering available and some are better suited to those who work and foster for example carer to carer short stays (also called respite). This involves providing care on a one-off or regular basis, supporting another foster carer or a child’s family member to sustain the longer term care for a child. For example, you may give everyone a break by caring for a child one weekend a month. Carer to carer short stays can also include supporting other carers or family members in times of crisis or ill health. Read this blog to learn more about the different types of fostering >

Everyone’s circumstances are different, we understand there are increasing financial pressures and single carers do not have a second income to help support the household however with more children coming into care every year we need foster families more than ever and we appreciate that you may need to work and foster.

When you enquire about fostering our friendly team will ask you about your circumstances and how fostering might work for you. This is an informal chat that will hopefully give you a better idea about whether fostering is right for you. If you would like to speak with a foster carer about fostering, we can arrange this for you.

If you choose to proceed with your interest in fostering, your ability to meet a child’s needs will be discussed in detail as part of process to become a foster carer. We will consider your working hours, your employer’s flexibility, if you’re applying to foster as a single applicant or with a partner, what your support network looks like, the type of fostering you’re interested in and your age preference. It’s important that your job has flexibility and you have a support network to be able to accommodate situations like a child being unwell or an emergency and to be available to care for a child during school holidays.

Fostering allowance

All foster carers receive an allowance per foster child per week to contribute towards day to day expenses. You will also receive additional payments for the child’s birthday, a holiday and festival. The amount that you receive will vary depending on the child’s age, their needs and the type of foster care you are providing. Foster carers also receive an additional payment, a skills based fee which increases as you gain experience and undertake training. In addition to your allowance and skills based fee, you can claim mileage and we provide you with all the equipment you need to help you care for a child. It is important to know that you will only receive payments when you are caring for a child.

We appreciate that if you were to give up your job to foster full time you would need to know what your income would look like. As part of the process to become a foster carer, an assessing social worker will explore your finances in more detail to ensure you and any children you care for are financially stable. Fostering allowances are usually tax free and do not impact on state benefits like housing benefits, pensions and Working Tax Credit although further advice is available from the government at www.gov.uk/becoming-foster-parent.

Understandably you may have other questions about fostering after reading this blog, if you do please get in touch with the team on 01925 444100, email fosteringrecruitment@warrington.gov.uk or complete an enquiry form at Enquire – Foster 4.

Please note: actors photo used for this blog post.