Foster carers provide secure and loving homes for children when they can't live with their own families. This might be for a few weeks, months or until a child becomes an adult, depending on their different situations. Children who live with foster carers may have had difficult experiences or their family may not be able to look after them safely. Some children's lives may have included scary and painful events.
Who decides when children need to live with a foster carer?
The local authorities and the courts decide when a child can't stay with their family. Surrey County Council Fostering Service supports children in foster care and their foster carers. We help to find suitable foster families for children to make sure they are well looked after and to give them the best possible future.
What do foster carers do?
The role of a foster carer includes the 'usual' tasks expected of parents and guardians such as taking children to and from school, taking them for medical, dental, and other appointments, attending meetings, visiting friends, and supporting the child with any other things they might need.
People with lots of different experiences and in different living situations can become foster carers. Our job is to help you prepare to be a foster carer by providing training, assessment, and ongoing support for you to care for children.
Foster carers are part of a team of professionals who help children adjust to a new family life and recover from traumatic experiences they may have had earlier in their lives. We will help you think about whether looking after children for short or longer periods of time works better in your situation.
Are there different types of fostering?
There are many types of fostering and lots of different children need foster care. This includes babies, teenagers, groups of brothers and sisters, children with disabilities and young people who are seeking asylum and safety in the UK.