Who has parental responsibility when a child is in foster care?

Fostering can be classified as "emergency," "short-term," or "parent and child," in addition to long-term placements.

Long-term fostering placements, what they entail, and, in particular, the rights of long-term foster homes for children and parents are discussed here.

Long-term foster care places a child or young person (under 18) in a foster home environment. The placement could continue for months, years, or even until they reach maturity and can live freely. A long-term arrangement with a foster carer is only possible once the Local Authority issues a care order.

Long-term fostering is essential to permanence planning and a child's agreed-upon care plan. The "team around the child," which includes the birth family (if applicable), social workers, health workers, education professionals, the Local Authority, and other professionals as needed, is responsible for implementing the plan.

What are the rights of a long-term foster parent?

All parental rights and duties are passed to the adoptive parent when a kid or young person is legally adopted (s). Long-term foster parents do not have legal parental rights over their fostered kid; those rights stay with the Local Authority (LA) and the birth parents.

On the other hand, foster parents are considered responsible for the day-to-day care, nurture, and raising of a child in the care system, often known as a "looked after child" or a "child that is looked after."

You don't have to have children of your own to understand the gravity of this responsibility. When you become a foster parent with Family Fostering Partners, we'll guide, advise, and support you

For a young person who has never experienced the care and attention that comes with being a part of a loving family, joining your family can be an uncomfortable and unnerving move. Accepting a stranger into your house might tremendously impact your family life.

A long-term foster care placement allows vulnerable young people to form relationships and trust, have their ambitions encouraged, develop a strong sense of self, make friends, gain confidence, and begin living their life fully.

With each passing day, you feel more confident in making the right judgments and choices in the best interests of that child. You may not have legal rights, but you have the right to a well-deserved sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

Long-term foster parents have a regular and consistent positive influence on every area of a kid's development in real life, putting a youngster who may have had a chaotic and unpredictable upbringing on the route to a more settled transition to maturity and independent living.

Are you ready to become a member of our family?

UK Fostering is always looking for new foster parents to join our family. Our professional fostering service has a network of foster parents representing the diverse communities of Wales and Fostering in the UK.

When you join UKF, you'll never be alone because we provide paid-to-foster allowances and training, guidance, and support.