What are the different types of fostering?

Since each child or young person has their own needs, there are, as you’d expect, different types of fostering. Our aim is to match children with suitable foster families who can provide the specific support and care they require while living away from their birth family. 

Some children need immediate short-term foster care support, while others require long-term foster families. Likewise, there are children who require specialised care due to their age, health conditions, disabilities, or specific behavioural or emotional needs.  

Different types of fostering ensure that foster carers have the necessary skills and training to provide targeted support. One thing that they all have in common, though, is that they’re immensely rewarding, so we thought we’d share a summary of each.  

Short-Term and Emergency Fostering 

As the name suggests, this type of fostering is for a short period of time. With emergency fostering, foster carers provide immediate care for children who require urgent placement, often due to a crisis or unforeseen circumstances. 

Essentially, short-term foster carers provide temporary care for children. This is while plans are made for their long-term care, such as a return home with their birth family or moving to long-term foster carers.  

Long-Term fostering 

Long-term foster carers provide children and young people with a safe, supportive, nurturing family environment. Lasting from several months to years, the child often remains with the same foster family until they reach adulthood.  

If you were to ask any of our long-term foster carers, they’ll tell you the same thing. Long-term fostering, while not without its challenges, is a gratifying experience. As a foster carer, you offer a child a sense of belonging and stability. Over time, you can establish a bond, trust, and connection that can be transformative for the child’s emotional and social development. 

Resilience fostering 

Resilience foster carers are specialist foster carers trained to care for children aged 8-18 who have had very difficult life experiences. They help young people understand and manage their emotions and behaviours to build healthy, positive relationships.  

Again, being a resilience foster carer is personally rewarding, both for the foster carer and the young person, as the relationship creates a greater sense of belonging and permanency.  

Given the higher level of care, resilience carers receive a financial reward package of up to £40,000 per year.  

Family Link fostering 

Offering short-term breaks or periods of care to provide respite for disabled children, our family link foster carers give families much-needed support.  

Depending on a child or young person’s needs, Family Link fostering can last from a few hours to a few days each month. The foster carer’s role is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the child.  

An immensely rewarding experience, our Family Link foster carers build a close relationship with the child and parent.   

Parent and child fostering 

Parent and child fostering, also known as mother and baby fostering, is where foster carers provide short-term support, guidance, and mentoring to a young parent (usually mum) and their baby or young child. The aim is to help the parent develop their parenting skills, bond with their child, and create a nurturing and stable environment for their family. 

Our foster carers work closely with the parent to promote positive parenting techniques, establish routines, and ensure the wellbeing of both the parent and child.  

This short-term support is personally enriching as the parent develops lifelong skills to care for their child safely.  

Giving you the skills to foster  

Whatever type of foster carer you become, you can be sure of one thing – you’ll receive all the training and support that you need. 

As part of your training, you will develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to be a ‘therapeutic champion’ for children who have experienced trauma. So, whatever type of foster carer you become, you’ll be a great one! 

If you’re interested in becoming a Northamptonshire foster carer, we’d love to hear from you. Simply contact us to start your fostering journey.