Foster Care Services Explained: Could You Foster a Parent and Child?
Here’s all you need to know.
Parent and Child fostering offers guidance to parents who may need extra support, education and counsel in the care of their children. Formerly known as ‘mother and baby fostering’, this lesser-known service plays an equally vital part in children’s well-being and their lives thereafter.
Why families need foster care services
Parent and Child fostering keeps children’s needs the focal point of care while coaching the parent in the caretaking, bonding and development of their child. This type of fostering is beneficial because it keeps families together when extra support needs have been identified to improve family life.
There are many reasons that parents come into care with their children. It's not traditional fostering, a lot of the time you’re supervising, role modelling, or helping restore confidence after trauma. You may have someone in your care escaping domestic violence from parents or partners. Sometimes the parents have been in contact with social services and aren’t coping very well. In these circumstances, the family would benefit from extra support, a bit like staying with an aunt and uncle and it’s this type of family support that is mirrored by Parent and Child fostering.
A Nuffield Trust study in 2017 showed that 40% of mothers who lose children to care have themselves been in care. A further 14% had lived separately or had distant relationships with their parents, meaning collectively that more than half of those losing their children to care had not experienced the same family-based support that most get when starting families.
Parent and Child fostering aims to bridge that gap, allowing parents to be coached by someone who is empathetic to their situation. This role is one that advises and guides, shows how to care for a baby, and builds a knowledge base not to be undervalued, meaning a foster carer can play both an immediate role in keeping a child and family cared for, while contributing to the legacy of knowledge that lives on within the family setting.
What kind of work does a Parent and Child foster carer do?
A foster carer in this niche will offer a supervised environment, making sure the child or children are tended to. Life revolves around the children, though the level of care varies between light monitoring, and a more hands-on role.
Many will often link this foster care service to teenage mums, and whilst this can often still be the case, occasionally mums or dads in their 40s can need assistance, or even both parents together. That means needs differ hugely from case to case.
In some instances the work will involve helping a young parent bond with their child or children, training in care and play, understanding a baby’s needs, and even learning to appreciate the pleasures and accomplishments of the child’s development. The foster carer may be required to make notes and help the parent improve their skills, helping them to recognise their own achievements and joys.
However, the foster carer must also be prepared to step in when needed. Whilst some parents can be left alone with children, or are building up to that responsibility, some can’t. It could be the parents have lost previous children, particularly in cases of substance abuse. It doesn’t mean the parent doesn’t care, they’ve just lost their way and lack that traditional family support setting.
Speaking to Christine Andrew, Recruitment Officer at Anchor Foster Care, she said:
“In these scenarios, it could be their last chance. I once met someone who had had a terrible life, and at every juncture, the parent had been written off. Parent and child fostering is a great way of giving a support system to someone in that situation. The parent and child deserved a chance together.”
Those who perform this vital work will say that it’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Parent and Child fostering offers a lot to both caregivers, parents and their children. Often it means life-long relationships with the families, who, when given the right springboard, can go on to flourish in their lives.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be uncovering more about Parent and Child fostering. Stay up to date and check our blog regularly.
>> Find out more about Parent and Child Fostering
>> Read our testimonials on our Foster Care Services
