Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
What support is available for foster carers?
How to choose a foster care agency
Foster Care Fortnight: How to raise awareness about children in foster care
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
A complete guide to becoming a foster carer
How Are Children in Foster Care Matched with Carers?
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
What does Every Child Matters Mean for Foster Parents?
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
Reasons for a child to be taken into Care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
A guide to fostering assessments
LGBTQ+ Fostering
Equality, Inclusion & Anti-discriminatory Practice in Foster Care
What can disqualify you from foster care?
Can you foster if you’re on benefits?
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Is there an age limit for fostering in the UK?
Do foster carers get a pension?
How to foster a child: A step by step guide
How do DBS Checks Work?
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 I Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Can Single People Foster?
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Muslim Fostering
Christian Foster Care
Sikh Fostering
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies and Young Children
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
Reunification and Birth Parents: A Guide for Foster Carers
How to prepare a child for becoming a care leaver
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
Fostering LGBTQ+ Youth
How to prepare your home for a foster child
How to help a lonely child: A Guide for Foster Carers
What are the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services?
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
What discounts can foster carers get?
How to adopt from Foster Care
5 ways to manage Father's Day for children in foster care
8 most common fostering challenges
FosterTalk Membership with Capstone Foster Care
Supporting foster children's contact with birth families
A guide to independent fostering
Keeping Children Safe Online: A Guide For Foster Carers
Foster Care in TV and Film
Play-based learning strategies for foster carers
A Guide to the Staying Put Program
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 vs 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
Reading and Storytelling with Babies and Young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
Things you can do when your children leave home
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Anxious Disorders in 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
Then it’s important to understand some old myths about fostering. Find out who can foster from our top 10 fostering myths. How many of these myths have you believed?
Foster carers are not required to be married. They need to have a desire to look after children and young people and help them work toward a brighter future. Single men and women are welcomed, and encouraged to become foster carers. As a foster carer, you are part of a larger team so there is no need to have a spouse to share the responsibilities of caring for a child. You never foster alone; there is a strong team working with you. Learn more about single parent fostering now.
You do not need to own your home – it’s very acceptable for it to be a rented property, however, you do have to check with your landlord before applying and have them provide approval for foster children in their property. You will also need to provide not only financial security, but stability too if you are living in rented accommodation – meaning it would be not be recommended to keep moving around if you are taking care of a foster child.
Being gay does not disqualify you from being a foster carer. Single gay and lesbian people, as well as gay and lesbian couples, are encouraged to become foster carers. Of all the components that go into a foster carer, your sexual orientation is not on the list.
Any placement is discussed with both the child and the foster parent before it happens and whether you’re male or female, gay or straight, bisexual or transgender is not an issue.. Learn more about LGBT fostering myth busting from our article.
The reality is that when you become a foster carer, your first obligation is to the child in care and this is a 24/7 job. However, fostering may turn out to be a sporadic job and you might not always have a placement and, without a placement, there is no payment. When you apply to be a foster carer, you discuss your job and your desire to keep it. Arrangements can often be made to accommodate it along with fostering. If for instance, you have a spouse or partner, one of you can always be available for the child. For more information, read our guide on Can I Work and Foster?
At Capstone Foster Care, we have a lower age limit of 21 but that is mostly about maturity. There is no upper age limit. There are, however, health requirements. If you are in good health, mentally and physically, and have a high energy level, being a senior citizen is not an impediment to being a foster parent.
Do not eliminate the possibility of fostering because you have a baby. When you apply to become a foster parent, your current situation is discussed and assessed. A new baby in your household will bring many changes but these changes do not necessarily mean you cannot foster. Your ability to provide the care that your baby requires and that the foster child needs will be considered. It is important that you are not overwhelmed and that neither the baby nor the child in care is left wanting, or needing, more attention and care than you can provide.
Pets are considered great therapy pals for children in care so the first response to this myth is that you can become a foster carer if you have pets. However, there are two exceptions to the statement that having pets will not disqualify you from fostering.
Learn more about fostering with pets now.
Not all disabilities disqualify you from fostering. While there is an emphasis on good health for foster carers, disabilities are not necessarily disqualifiers. If fostering will not put your health at risk, a disability will not prevent you from being a foster parent. There are expectations that must be met and if you can perform typical daily activities and attend necessary meetings, your disability will not be a preventative factor in fostering.
Experience is not required to be a foster parent. Not everyone can have children. This does not mean that you don’t have all the necessary mental, physical, and emotional equipment necessary to foster a child.
As for the experience, the agency provides ongoing training and support. If you have never had a child and therefore think that you will not know what to expect from a child placed with you, do not be concerned. A supervising social worker will be available for you from the beginning of your assessment and throughout your journey as a carer.
Being unemployed is beneficial for becoming a foster carer – it means that you are always available to care for a child. This would involve attending training sessions, meetings, and appointments that involve fostering and the child’s medical, educational, and social needs without having to reschedule prior commitments.
During the assessment process, being unemployed is not considered. Being unemployed assures that you are accessible and available to meet the child’s need at all times. However, there is a financial repercussion to being unemployed in some cases. If you have not had a job income for some time, you could possibly have a debt load. During the assessment process, one of the matters that is discussed is your financial situation.
Now the top 10 foster care myths are cleared up, learn more about the fostering process and how to apply to become a foster parent. Alternatively, if your query hasn’t been answered, our guide on ‘Can I foster if…?’ covers to above points, and more, in detail. Get in touch with an expert today for more information.
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.