Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
Can I choose who I foster?
How to foster
What are the benefits of fostering with an independent fostering agency?
What happens when a child is taken into care?
Fostering process: what happens on an initial home visit?
Can you foster if you have mental health issues?
Fostering with local authority vs independent agency
Interview: Life as a foster parent during the pandemic
Becoming A Foster Carer
Benefits of becoming a foster parent
What is a Care Leaver?
What is a Foster Carer?
What is Foster Care?
Do I become a Foster Carer?
Fostering Regulations
How much do Foster Parents get paid?
How to Foster a Child
How long does it take to become a Foster Carer?
How to foster – everything you ever wanted to know
Facts about Foster Care
What are the Foster Care requirements?
Foster Care Handbook
Foster Carer Job Description
Changing IFA - Transferring to Capstone
Fostering Definition
Foster Care Statistics
Fostering Assessment
Fostering Outcomes
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
8 reasons why a child may be taken into care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Can I foster if...?
Mythbusting the top 10 Foster Care Myths
Can I foster if I am disabled?
LGBT Fostering Mythbusting
Can I foster if I have pets?
Can I Foster A Child?
Can you Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Fostering as a Single Parent
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Muslim Fostering
Christian Foster Care
Sikh
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
10 things you can do when your Children fly the nest
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies - Myths
Focusing on Parent & Child Fostering
Fostering Siblings
Fostering Teenagers
Fostering Teenagers - Breaking down the Myths
Fostering Unaccompanied and Asylum Seeking Children
Mother and Baby Foster Placements
Private Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering - Multi-disciplinary Assessment Treatment & Therapy Service (MATTS)
Young Children Fostering Placements
Difference between short and long-term fostering
How to prepare a child for becoming a care leaver
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
How to prepare your home for a foster child
10 tips for foster children’s education
How to prepare your foster child for secondary school
Tips for coping when foster placements end
Tips for foster parents during Coronavirus
What happens if foster parents get divorced?
5 ways to manage Mother’s Day with foster children
Tips for managing foster children’s bedtime routines
How to handle foster child bullying
Fostering allowances and the gender pay gap
Tips for keeping foster children safe online
How to adopt from Foster Care
5 ways to manage Father’s Day with foster children
8 most common fostering challenges
Supporting foster children’s contact with birth families
How to deal with empty nest syndrome
How to recognise signs of depression in foster children
Can you take a foster child on holiday?
Tips and advice on fostering with a disability
10 tips on connecting with your Foster Child
Fostering versus Adoption - What's the difference?
How Fostering can change a future
How to adopt from Foster Care
How to encourage children to read in Foster Care
How to prepare a Foster Child's bedroom
Online grooming - unwanted contact and how to identify it
Reading and storytelling with Babies and young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
Technology and Internet Safety advice
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Tips for coping with attachment disorders in Foster Children
Tips for supporting reunification in Foster Care
Together for a better Internet - Web Safety for Foster Children
What is sexual abuse and sexual violence
Foster Child behaviour management strategies
Foster Parent Advice: What to expect in your first year of fostering
Capstone's twelve tips at Christmas
10 celebrities who grew up in Foster Care
Celebrating our Children and Young People
Could Millenials be the solution to the Foster Care crisis?
Do you work in Emergency Services?
Form F Assessor and Assessment Training
Foster Care Fortnight
Improving Children's Welfare - Celebrating Universal Children's Day
It's time to talk about Mental Health and Foster Care
New Year - New Career - Become a Foster Carer
Promoting the rights and wellbeing of persons with Disabilities
Refugee Week
Young people and Mental Health in a changing world
Young People Charities
An independent fostering agency such as Capstone Foster Care carries out an assessment with the initial goal of understanding how you would react to fostering. It is only natural that anyone would find being assessed daunting but every agency or local authority does the same type of due diligence before placing a child or young person in a foster home.
If Capstone agrees that fostering is right for you, your family and your home, a social worker (or initial visit specialist) becomes involved and is assigned to determine your skills to foster. The social worker who visits your home might be one of Capstone Foster Care’s own social workers or an independent social worker. After the initial interview, if you are still interested and the social worker is confident that your home is adequate and your interest is sufficient, the Form F assessment begins. In assessing the home, as an example, dogs identified under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 such as Pit Bull Terriers and the Japanese Tosa are prohibited in a foster home. There also needs to be sufficient space so that each child has his or her own bedroom.
The application and assessment procedure can take from four to six months. The assessment and approval process involves getting to know you. Police and medical checks are carried out. It might seem to be intrusive but agencies and local authorities have the safety of children in care as their primary responsibility. Through an evidence-based assessment, the agency gets to know you and your strengths and capabilities.
Your family could have up to a dozen visits from the social worker. Training sessions are also offered during the assessment period. This allows you to ask pertinent questions and seek advice about what is expected of you and for Capstone to learn about you.
We are there to provide the support that you need during the assessment period as well as after you are approved as a foster carer.
Prospective foster carers will also have had time to have their own children become acclimatised to the idea of having new members in the household. During the months of the fostering assessment process, they will have been involved in the meetings with the social workers.
All members of your household over 18 undergo a DBS check. If the DBS check does show up some criminal activity in the past, this does not automatically disqualify you as a potential carer. The nature of the criminal record and your honesty about the experience can mitigate the circumstances.
Once the Form F is completed, the final approval is up to Capstone’s Agency Decision Maker (ADM). The panel provides Capstone with its report and recommendations, and while the fostering panel and approval or rejection may seem like the end of the process, the final decision whether or not to accept the panel’s recommendation is made by Capstone’s ADM. By the time you have moved through the assessment process you will feel more comfortable about the new experience of having a foster child or young person placed with you. We will work with and help you every step of the way while you are a Capstone foster carer, providing our training and support services as and when you need them.
If you would like to find out more about fostering, contact Capstone Foster Care today on 0800 012 4004 or simply click here.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with Capstone, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
