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What kind of people become Foster Carers?
There are very few rules about who can foster. Like the children they look after, foster carers come from a wide variety of religious and cultural backgrounds - they are people like you!
- All foster carers must be 21 or over
- They might be a single male or female, married or in a long-term relationship. The important thing is, that if someone is in a relationship, that it is a stable one. It is also important that both partners are in agreement to making an application to foster.
- They might have children of their own, but some don't. It isn't essential that a foster carer already has parenting experience but we would want to know about what kind of experiences a childless applicant has had with children and young people. If applicants do have children - even adult ones living at home - we would need to know that they agree with an application to foster being made. Fostering is a family-based task, so the whole family needs to agree about doing this job.
- Some foster carers work. However, this would limit the kind of placement which could be made. For example, it might be easier for a working carer to look after a settled, school age child than a pre-school child with no day care place, or a child/young person who is often excluded from school. However, a child/young person who is settled at school one day, and keeps good general health, may not be the next! Working carers must then think about how they would manage if a child/young person was ill, and how they would cope with school holidays/in-service days, or periods of exclusion. Working carers must have strategies in place to allow them to attend meetings associated with caring for the child, and these are usually held during office hours. Working carers who receive a fostering fee would be expected to pay for any day-care for children they look after.
- Some foster carers don't do other work apart from fostering, or are unemployed. Please note: Fees paid to foster carers are taxable and can affect some (but not all) benefit payments. Please check with your local benefits office.
* Some foster carers own their homes; others rent or lease theirs. The Social Work Department has to check with all landlords, including Dundee City Council, that permission is available for applicants to foster from their rented property.
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