Could you become a parent and child foster carer for Chloe and Ava, a young mum and her baby?
Chloe is a young person and new mum to Ava. She’s had a challenging upbringing, with little stability in her life to date so the people around her are worried whether she will have the skills and support necessary to parent a young baby.
Chloe needs a parent and child foster placement where she can be helped to develop parenting skills and establish routines for herself and Ava, before they can move out and live independently.
Chloe would like to live alone now but if she isn’t able to do this, she would like to live with someone who can help her learn to care for her baby, support her and be honest and fair in what they record as part of her assessment.
Who are Chloe and Ava?
Chloe and Ava represent a small minority of those in our care that need parent and child fostering – a specialist type of foster care.
The main aim of this specialist type of fostering is to help ensure that the child and parent(s) can remain together. There are many reasons why a parent may require a placement. They may need additional support and advice as a new parent or there might be significant concerns about the parent’s ability to care for the child. Some parents may not have received positive parenting themselves, but during this placement, they will be guided by a positive role model to develop the skills they need to live independently.
Role of a parent and child foster carer
You would make a great parent and child foster carer if you could provide a positive, supportive and supervised environment where parents can develop the skills necessary to be positive role models in their child’s life, giving both a brighter future together.
As a parent and child foster carer you will:
- Provide a safe home environment, free from judgement
- Observe parenting and keep records
- Build confidence in the parents’ skills
- Attend training to continuously develop knowledge and skills
- Support the parent and their child including feeding, bathing and emotional care
- Attend meetings
- Help the parent to develop skills such as household skills and money management.
Want to know more about what’s involved with parent and child fostering from a foster carer? Read Lucy’s story.
The support you get
When you become a foster carer with South Gloucestershire Council, you will benefit from:
- Competitive financial support
- An extensive training and development programme offering you the opportunity to develop your skills in supporting children and young people
- A dedicated social worker to support you and your family throughout your fostering journey
- A 24-hour support line, seven days a week
- Therapeutic support from our WAYPOINT team
- A network of support from experienced foster carers including support groups and buddying scheme
- Support for birth children and foster children from our WAYPOINT team
- Award-winning Mockingbird Family Model, with constellations to support our fostering families
- Regular activities and events for the whole family
- A variety of discounts and benefits from venues across the UK
Why foster with Foster South Glos?
If you have the patience, commitment and understanding required to be be a parent and child foster carer, we’d love to hear from you.
