Short-term and long-term foster care

You'll get fees and allowances while you are providing short-term or long-term foster care.

Short-term foster care

Short-term fostering is an essential part of the fostering service. Many children who come into care need a short-term solution to issues that mean they can't live at home.

For example, a child or young person may go into short-term foster care:

• While social workers and professionals provide assessment and support to see if they can return to their birth family
• While they are waiting for an adoptive or long-term foster family
• To help prepare them as a young adult to take the next step and live independently

Short-term placements usually last for a few weeks or months at a time, but they can last for up to 2 years.

Long-term foster care

Long-term foster care involves looking after a child or young person until they are 18. It provides a permanent, consistent, secure family home, and generates a positive sense of belonging.

As a foster carer, you may choose to extend the time your young person stays with you through the staying put scheme. This gives young people in care the option to continue living with the family beyond the age of 18.