how long does the fostering process take?
Everyone’s journey is different. Fostering is a decision to make a real difference to the lives of children in your community. It might take a little while to get you there, but the first step is the most powerful.
It can take around 6 months to get through the initial fostering process, but that’s because there are multiple checks and references that need to take place to ensure every child joins a safe and loving home.
From your first enquiry to the final green light, let’s break down exactly what happens during the process, and how long each stage is likely to take.
your initial enquiry
The first step in your foster carer journey is submitting an enquiry to let us know you’re interested in learning more about fostering.
To do this, search for your local Foster Wales team here on our site and we’ll then direct you to how to get in touch.
Upon acknowledging your enquiry, one of our team will get in touch within a few days to chat on the phone and organise a date and time for a home visit. During this, we’ll get to know a bit more about you while you get to ask us your questions, too!
If you like what you hear, and we feel you are ready to proceed with becoming a foster carer, we can get the ball rolling.
medical assessment
We’re not expecting every foster carer to be an Olympian, but it’s important that you have a standard of physical and mental health that allows you to care for a child.
This means you’ll be asked about your health history, as well as your current physical health. A check-up, usually with your local GP, is required.
You’ll also be asked some additional questions about your lifestyle, such as whether you smoke and how often you drink alcohol.
The length of time this part of the process takes really depends on the availability of you and your GP. Once the medical is complete, your GP will pass on their assessment to us, via our medical advisor.
checks and references
To foster a child, you’ll need to provide us with some referees, who know you well.
This begins the process of us getting a better understanding of what you’re like as a person, and what you’ll be like as a foster carer.
Talking to some of your friends, as well as people who have employed you, can give us a good first understanding of you and your lifestyle.
DBS checks
You’ll also need to comply to a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. A DBS check looks at whether someone has any convictions, including whether there are any reasons they should not be able to work with particularly vulnerable groups, such as children.
It’s better to get your DBS check sent in sooner rather than later, as they typically can take around eight weeks to process.
If you’ve lived overseas, this can take a little longer.
preparation training
This is a 3-day eye-opener, where you meet other individuals and families in the same position as you – interested in fostering but wanting to know more. This can sometimes be the start of a lovely fostering friendship with someone on your course.
The course is an introduction to important topics and some jargon too. It’ll cover everything from accepting children for who they are and their identity to the wider team working around the child and communicating information.
It will also help you with understanding behaviour, how to set boundaries, and your role as a foster carer rather than a parent. And finally, discuss what it’s like when children move on.
The most memorable part of the course is when this is all brought to life by a real foster carer sharing their own experience.
how long does it take to foster a child?
The longest part of the fostering process is your series of home visits, which can usually take up to six months. Therefore, you should allow this long for everything to come together.
You’ll have several house visits from an assigned social worker to get to know you better. They’ll ask you about what has brought you to your decision to foster, your relationships, general lifestyle, experience with children, and more.
This is also our opportunity to prepare you for your role as a foster carer, expand on what was shared in your preparation training course, and discuss possible scenarios that you might come across.
We can’t prepare you for everything, but we can share our experiences and pose as many “what ifs” as we can to reassure you, explain, and explore different topics.
And you need to get to know us too, as we are going to be by your side through the ups and downs, hopefully for many years to come.
It can feel like a long time, but don’t worry – we’ll be there with you the entire time, and it’s entirely worth it.
why does it take this long?
There are a lot of steps involved in fostering a child to ensure they’re placed in a safe and stable home. Many of these stages depend on the speed of third parties, such as your references, GP, and DBS so the process as a whole can vary in length.
We also take our time to make sure we are matching you with children we feel best suit your home, skills and experience. We’ll get to know you and your family. Find out what you’re passionate about, and most importantly, who you are.
We feel that 6 months gives you time to digest all the information and ask questions as you go along – questions that you maybe didn’t think of at the start.
It gives you time to reflect, discuss with your family, understand and feel comfortable with the level of commitment needed and make sure it’s right for you and your whole family. We can also identify areas that you’d like to learn more about.
It’s not just your home and your community that matter to us. We care about you as an individual and to make the best matches – and build the best possible futures – we need to know everything we can.
the final steps
Once all the forms have been filled in and checks are completed, your assessment report will go to a panel for review. The panel will make the final recommendation as to whether you are approved as foster carer.
Once you are approved, you will be given an induction and the process of matching you with a child (or children) will begin.
For more information, please read our Flintshire site’s article: Why (to do it right) it takes 6 months to become a foster carer
For personal stories, read: Our fostering journey step by step or preparing for fostering panel: what to expect
