Understanding the Fostering Process: From Enquiry to Matching
Whether you’ve decided to foster or are still on the fence, understanding the fostering application process will ensure you know what to expect when you apply. Join us as we explore the steps to becoming a foster parent, from your initial enquiry right through to welcoming your first child.
What is the process of becoming a foster parent?
Becoming a foster parent may seem daunting at first glance, but at ACS, we’ve streamlined the process. In just six simple steps, you could begin a new vocation where you actively transform young lives by offering them a safe space to live, grow, and thrive.
Step 1: How to start the fostering process
To start the foster care process, all you have to do is get in touch. Call us on 0800 917 7937 or fill in our online enquiry form, and we’ll call you. Our friendly and experienced enquiry team will tell you a little more about ACS and answer any initial questions you may have. If you’re happy with everything, we’ll schedule a home visit at a time and date that best suits you.
Step 2: Home visit
The next step is a home visit. One of our fostering advisors will either visit you at home or meet you virtually on Teams. Home visits are about us getting to know you and your family better. You'll also learn about fostering in more detail, including the application process, matching you with your first child, training, and support. If you're ready to move on to the next stage, we'll ask you to complete a simple application form.
Step 3: Fostering assessment
The fostering assessment process makes up the majority of your application, taking around four months to complete. You’ll be assigned an experienced social worker who’ll work with you to complete your Form F.
Your Form F is a legal requirement – regardless of who you choose to foster with – that helps us ensure that you can provide a safe, stable, and nurturing home for vulnerable children and young people. It’s also designed to assure both us and you that fostering won’t negatively impact your well-being. While the process may seem long, it gives you time to fully reflect and prepare for the challenges and rewards of fostering.
Your assessing social worker will visit you at home up to ten times to complete your Form F. They'll run some foster care checks and ask questions about your life and background, exploring areas such as:
- Your personal history and life journey.
- Relationships within your family and household dynamics.
- Employment background and experience.
- Physical and mental health, including a medical review by your GP.
- Significant past and present relationships, including those with children and former partners.
- Your broader support network, including friends and extended family.
- Your living environment, including home setup, safety, and pets.
- Your motivation for becoming a foster parent.
- Background checks, such as an enhanced DBS check and references.
The fostering assessment may sound intrusive, but it's a vital step in becoming a foster parent and helps us tailor support to your individual needs. Many of our foster parents find the process rewarding because it gives them time to reflect on their lives and get to know themselves better. Once your Form F is complete, you'll also have a document that captures your life story.
Step 4: Pre-approval training
At ACS, we offer high-quality foster care training to equip you with the knowledge and tools to foster children and young people of all ages, starting with our pre-approval training.
During the assessment phase of the fostering process, we'll invite you to our Prepare to Foster training course. Over three days, you'll explore the fostering journey, discover what it's like to be a child in care and have a chance to meet and chat with our current foster parents.
The training will provide you with key skills and knowledge, so you'll feel confident when you welcome your first child. Topics include safer caring, the role of foster parents, understanding children, and more.
Step 5: Fostering panel
Attending the fostering panel is the last stage before you become an approved foster parent. It's when all the hard work you, your family, and your assessing social worker have done to complete your Form F comes together.
When your assessing social worker believes you’re ready, we'll invite you to the fostering panel, which can take place either in person or virtually via Teams. The panel will review all the information gathered during your assessment beforehand, highlighting any details they may want to clarify.
You'll attend the meeting with your assessing social worker, but you’re welcome to bring a friend or relative along for emotional support. Don't worry – attending the panel isn't like going to a job interview, and they’re not there to catch you out. Instead, the panel will have an open and friendly discussion with you about what's written in your Form F. They may also ask questions, including some written by children in foster care.
Once the meeting is over, the final stage of the foster care approval process begins. The panel will recommend your suitability to foster, including the fostering type that would best suit your family. Their recommendation will then be forwarded to the Agency Decision Maker, who will make the final decision and confirm your approval.
Step 6: Matching
Now you’re an approved foster parent, you will be considered for new referrals – this is known as the foster care matching process.
In fact, the matching process actually begins during your assessment. We take the time to really get to know you and discuss your preferences. This helps streamline the process, allowing our referral teams to quickly identify whether a child would be the right fit for your family – and you for them.
Once we match a child with your family, we'll provide as much information about them as possible, including why they’ve moved into foster care. You can then decide whether to agree to the match. If you do, we'll help you prepare to welcome them into your home, including supporting you in creating a welcome book so the child can get to know your family before meeting you for the first time.
Wherever possible, we'll arrange introductions before a child moves in with you. However, sometimes this isn't possible – for example, if you foster in an emergency.
How long does the fostering process take?
The fostering application process typically takes between four to six months, from the moment you enquire until you’re approved. Once you’re approved, the time it takes to welcome your first child can vary depending on your preferences and each child’s needs.
However, we receive hundreds of referrals every day, and we’ll support you to ensure you and your family are fully prepared for when a suitable match is found.
Start your fostering journey today
If you’d like the opportunity to play an active role in transforming young lives, get in touch and start your fostering journey today. Our friendly enquires team can tell you more about the role of a foster parent, the application process, and why ACS could be the right fostering agency for you.
