Fostering 101: What It’s Like To Work With A Fostering Agency

In the UK, fostering is largely conducted through fostering agencies; companies that are responsible for ensuring that children are placed in foster homes where they can find stability and, hopefully, thrive. Naturally, many people who are looking to become foster carers may be concerned about what it’s like to work with a fostering agency. Are they pleasant? Stringent? Do they support you and the child properly throughout the process?

Today, we’ll be taking a look at the UK foster care system and the role of fostering agencies within it to hopefully provide some context for brand-new foster carers who are just starting out on their journey.

What Is A Fostering Agency?

Fostering agencies are companies/organisations in the UK that handle foster care for children and adolescents. While some fostering agencies are run by local councils, others are privately run but, roughly speaking, both have the same legal responsibilities to you and the child/children you’re adopting.

What are those responsibilities? Well, basically, it’s the job of a fostering agency to ensure that a child is placed in a safe home, that you the foster parent are fully aware of their needs – which oftentimes will be unique to the child – and that care is taken to ensure they have healthy development.

What Will A Fostering Agency Provide To You

First of all, it is the legal responsibility of foster agencies to provide every child with a care worker whose job it is to keep track of them and ensure that they are progressing stably. 

Secondly, fostering agencies are also responsible for making certain that you have the knowledge and resources at your disposal to sufficiently support the child/children in your care. To this end, they will often provide tutorials, and classes to help you better understand some of the complexities of foster care and develop skills that will help you along the way.

Why Do We Have Fostering Agencies?

The foster care system is a large and complex one, but on a basic level, the reason for fostering agencies is actually quite simple. While foster carers are responsible for managing the everyday needs of a child, there needs to be someone keeping an eye on them to ensure that they aren’t being placed into a dangerous situation and that their needs are being met.

It’s worth bearing in mind that many of the children who are placed into foster care come from difficult or troubled backgrounds. While every child’s story is unique, the fact that they’re in foster care in the first place means they’ve likely been through difficult times. As such, it is important that there be someone whose job it is to help these children find their feet and establish a new normal.