You might have heard of fostering, and be familiar with what fostering is. But actually, there are so many different elements to fostering – it is not just a long-term arrangement, and in certain cases, fostering can become an immediate short-term placement on a one to two nights basis. This is called emergency foster care, and it involves providing care at short notice.
Children and babies who need to stay somewhere else due to safety concerns, can be placed in emergency foster care as required. If you would like to learn more about emergency foster care, then read the following post written by the Fostering UK team.
What is Emergency Foster Care?
Emergency foster care is a particular type of placement in which a vulnerable child has to be placed into care under very short notice, usually in under 24 hours. There is no planning or introductions that take place beforehand, and normally the placement is a short-term one. Commonly, the placement will last until a more appropriate placement has been found by the fostering agency.
There are a number of reasons why a young child can be placed into emergency foster care. This could be as a result of an unsafe, unstable child’s home environment. It could also be because of unexpected circumstances such as the death of a carer or due to health problems.
Ultimately, the aim and objective of emergency foster care is to make sure that the child in question is kept safe, protected and secure on a temporary basis. Following this, it is important that the child’s future arrangements are formulated and secured by the fostering agency.
How Long Does Emergency Foster Care Last?
Usually, an emergency foster care placement is a very short-term arrangement – in many cases, just a night or two. This gives the social workers and relevant individuals time to adequately assess the child’s family situation.
During this time, if the circumstances are right, then the child can be looked after by a family member until the whole situation is established. On very rare occasions, emergency foster care placements can last many weeks or months, and if appropriate, can even become a long-term arrangement.
Is there Payment Involved?
Depending on the level of experience of the foster carer, emergency foster care can pay up to around £75 per night. If you become an emergency foster care parent, then you can also help other foster families with respite foster care if you wish. What this does is give other families a brief break from fostering, allowing them to destress and relax for a while.
If you do decade to provide respite care on top of the emergency foster care, then this will also provide you with additional income. Depending on how many nights you decide to foster, you will earn more money. Above all though, the priority is ensuring that the young individual has the stability, care and treatment that they deserve.
Discuss Emergency Foster Care with Fostering UK today
If you are interested in being an emergency foster care provider and would want to learn more about the emergency foster care procedures, please contact the Fostering UK team as soon as possible. You can call us at 0333 044 8890 to chat with one of our dedicated staff members casually.
We can offer you all of the information you need about fostering a child or adolescent, as well as answer any questions you may have. You can also get in touch with us by filling out the form on our website or sending an email to [email protected]. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Visit the Fostering UK website today for more information about emergency foster care.
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