What happens next Capstone

Once you have been approved and registered as a foster carer, you can expect your fostering career to begin, perhaps initially with providing some respite for other carers who need a week off, or with a full placement. Matching you with the right child/children may take some time, but careful matching means less likelihood of a placement breaking down at a later date.

We provide the following services at this stage of your career:

• Mentoring: a colleague who is a more experienced carer will be appointed as your mentor and they will be there to support you and answer any questions or concerns that are better answered by another foster carer
   
• Supervision: you have an appointed social worker who is there to support you and supervise your work.  They will meet with you usually fortnightly.  This supervision is a condition of your ongoing registration as a foster carer
   
• Support groups: most of our offices hold regular support group meetings where carers meet and discuss their work and particular issues they have with each other
   
• Carers’ clinics: these are small informal groups where carers meet with a therapist from the Capstone team and discuss together issues that arise in caring for children who have suffered trauma in their early life.