everything you need to know about parent and child foster placement
A parent and child foster placement is a specialist type of foster care. Parent and child foster care involves you as the carer helping a parent to care for their child, by guiding and supporting them to develop their parenting skills.
At Foster Wales Cardiff we aim to support parents and their children to remain together whenever it is safe do so. And we want to increase the number of parent and child placements that we offer in order to do this. As a foster carer for parent and child placements, you will be asked to keep observations and provide support and guidance to support the parent in the care of their child.
These types of placements are on the rise, yet there’s a dramatic shortage of carers available to accommodate the demand. Below you’ll discover more about parent and child placement and why we need your help to provide this valuable service.
understanding parent and child placement
Sometimes, we all need a little help when it comes to raising a child. As rewarding as it is, it’s by far one of the toughest jobs in the world. For many reasons, some parents may need a little helping hand to help bring their child up as best they can.
who are the parents?
The most common type of parent and child placements involve first-time mothers under the age of 25. Becoming a parent for the first time is frightening at any age, but for a young person it can be terrifying. At Foster Wales Cardiff we want to make sure the young mother has the necessary skills and support to raise her child herself. This is especially true for young mothers without their own parental support system, who have perhaps not received the best parenting themselves.
Of course, not all placements will involve young mothers and babies. A single parent with an older child may be struggling due to health issues or disabilities, or a father may be struggling to adjust as a newly single parent. As with all types of foster care, this is a diverse role and includes parents and children from a variety of backgrounds.
how long do they stay?
Parent and child foster placements usually last up to around 26-weeks. A request can be made to the court for the parent and child to move on sooner if they are doing well.
does it work?
Parent and child together foster placements give parents a fantastic opportunity to learn how to parent their child. They can prove to themselves and others that they have the ability to achieve. Parent and child together foster placements do work. Parents who want to achieve often do.
As a foster carer, you can pass along wisdom and offer support until they can do it on their own. You are not in this alone, there is special training and a whole team supporting you, the parent, and their baby.
Keeping families together and preventing children entering the care system is the most rewarding part. You get to watch them become the best parent they can be, and see their little family thrive.
To find out more why not talk to one of the Foster Wales Cardiff Team members today!
