Things to Consider Before Your Home Visit
Before your home visit it is always useful to have some questions ready to ask your fostering adviser. You may also want to think about how things in your family and home may change when you become a fostering family. In this article we want to prepare you as best as possible for your home visit and the start of your fostering journey so we have broken down some of the key things you may want to have a think about.
We don’t expect you to be an expert on foster care straight away so during your home visit we can talk you through all the different types of fostering and help you decide what is right for you and your family.
Consider your home environment
One of the biggest worries our potential foster carers have is the suitability of their home. You don’t have to live in a castle with twenty bedrooms to be a foster carer! Foster carers are regular people with regular homes, your home just needs to be safe and have adequate space to be able to care for a child. During the early stages of assessment, one of our fostering team will need to assess your home against Health and Safety standards and will talk to you about daily life in your home. Have a think about any adjustments you might need to make in your home to accommodate a child, particularly if you already have children and discuss any potential changes with the other members of your household. In the early stages of assessment, we will also want to meet your pets! Aside from loving a cuddly dog, we do need to see that any pets in your household will not pose a risk to children and the feeding and sleeping arrangements are hygienic.
What are your current work commitments
There are different types of fostering and each child requires different levels of hands-on care from their foster carers. Many of our foster carers continue to work alongside foster caring while some choose not to or take on placements where full time work may not be suitable. During your home visit, our fostering team will be able to help you think about what ages of children or types of fostering might work with your lifestyle.
How does the entire family feel about fostering?
If you already have children, they will play a big part in making the decision to foster. During the early stages of assessment, we will need to meet them for a chat about how they feel about welcoming a foster child into their home so it may be worth thinking about having some discussions with them now to gauge how they feel and what they know about fostering.
What training you are interested in and what is your support circle like?
At Fostering Rotherham, we are incredibly proud of our training and support and have built some amazing support networks among our foster carer community. Our Fostering Team can tell you all about these support networks, what they look like and how they work but it is worth thinking about your own support system- Is there someone available in case of an emergency? Do you have family or friends for both practical and emotional support?
How is your health?
Every foster child has different needs, for example a teenager will need less running about and crawling around playing than a three year old might. As part of the application process, every potential foster carer will have to undergo a medical assessment as it is important that we know about any past or present serious medical problems you may have had. If you have any concerns about this, your home visit is a perfect time to talk to your Fostering Team about this.
Do you have relevant work experience?
There is no one set type of person that makes a perfect foster carer and all experience is relevant and important. Do you have any experience working with children in a voluntary or professional capacity? All information is relevant and would only strengthen an application should you choose to make one.
Have you looked into the financials?
Fostering with Rotherham comes with a whole host of benefits, just one of them being the financial support you will receive as a foster carer. In your home visit, you can talk to our fostering team about your specific circumstances if you have any worries or concerns.
We don’t expect you to be an expert on foster care straight away so during your home visit we can talk you through all the different types of fostering and help you have a think about what age of child you might like to foster and share our wealth of experience with you to help you decide what is right for your family. You won’t have to make any decisions straight away and we know that your circumstances might change, even during the assessment process. Life happens- we’re used to it!
We hope this gives you some food for thought before your home visit and at the same time reassures you that there is plenty of support throughout the process.