Fostering siblings
Sibling fostering is all about caring for brothers and sisters, keeping them together so they can maintain family bonds and support each other through difficult times.
We know from research and experience that if we can keep siblings together, they’ll cope better with the trauma of being placed in foster care and have a happier experience, while their long term life chances significantly improve.
Sadly, however, a large number of brothers and sisters in care have to be separated each year. Sometimes this is because of sibling dynamics, or because the family group is too large.
But the biggest reason is simply a national shortage of foster parents who are able to take on two or sometimes more children.
This is because the demands on foster parents’ time is increased, but mainly because people need extra space in their homes. Even though same sex siblings can often share a room, when placing larger sibling groups of children two or more spare rooms is needed to keep the family together.
Fostering siblings comes with it's own challenges. Often the oldest sibling has taken parental responsibility for younger brothers and sisters and additional time needs to be given to older children, to help them to become children again and take time out for themselves.
While it’s a challenging type of fostering, there are rich rewards too – both in maintaining important family bonds, and in watching two or more young people grow individually and together.
We recognise that this is a specialist area and offer training and support, including guidance from our expert team who will advise and support you throughout.
Siblings fostering allowance
As a foster parent of siblings, you'll receive regular payments and allowances for each child in your care.
Other types of fostering
Can I choose how long I want a child or young person to stay with me?
How long a child stays with you depends on the plan for the child. Some children will return home or go on to adoption, others will stay in long term foster care. It's really important to us, that our foster parents give children stability whilst in their care. Many children have experienced multiple foster homes, and we will support you to make a commitment to a child for as long as they need it.
Who is responsible for taking foster children to school or the doctors?
As a foster parent it will be your responsibility to transport children to school and to all medical appointments. A child is unlikely to go to the school nearest you and you may have to transport a child across town or to another town to get to school.
Can a foster child share a bedroom?
No, a foster child must have a room of their own for many different reasons. The only exception to this is if you are fostering same sex siblings. We also don't recruit foster parents for babies alone, so if you wish to foster baby, who would share your room, ACS wouldn't be the right fostering agency for you.