Types of Fostering
You could foster in a variety of ways, with each type of fostering equally important in supporting vulnerable children and young people. Explore some of the different types of fostering we support below to help you understand what type of fostering is best for you.
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Therapeutic Fostering
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Fostering Young People
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UASC Fostering
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Respite Fostering
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Parent and Child Fostering
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Fostering Siblings
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Fostering Teenagers
Therapeutically-Led Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering provides the same core care and support that every child needs and deserves. However our service offers many additional support elements for Foster Carers and the child. As you may expect these children have a variety of additional, and often complex, needs. Their needs might be linked to past trauma, abuse or a severe disruption to their life which they have experienced. These experiences would have taken place before being placed into foster care, so an Empower Therapeutic Foster Carer (ETFC) is specifically trained to deliver the support and care which explores, recognises and, with time and patience, begins to understand and process the trauma.
Empower Therapeutic Foster Carers (ETFC) are trained to follow the PACE model, developed by Dr Dan Hughes, founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). We also draw on Kim Golding's House Model as well as other approaches. We compliment this with additional therapeutically informed training which educates and equips our therapeutic foster carers with the specialist skills and practical tools needed. ETFC's become part of Empower's therapeutically informed multidisciplinary team, having access to additional practical support from an Empower Therapeutic Change Worker (ETCW). This specialist multi-disciplinary team will meet regularly and look at the child’s needs on every level, learning about their trauma, understanding and developing ways to support them together. By working together as a team it will allow us to know how to care for foster children who need this higher level of support in the most effective and nurturing way possible.
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Training and Support
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We have designed and developed a bespoke ETC program which is unique to Empower – being part of our Multidisciplinary Team as an ETFC you will work alongside other professionals. This is a specialist therapeutic fostering program which is designed to provide enhanced support, with practical and educational resources for our Foster Carers and the children referred to our program. Our service provides more children with the opportunity for greater longevity in a stable family home, which will be supported by an informed therapeutic team.
Our ETFC's are provided with additional support, ongoing therapeutic foster care training, as well as practical support with access to your own ETCW who is also therapeutically trained, to better assist and guide you through the logistics of being part of this specialist team. They will provide pragmatic and meaningful assistance designed to be supportive to our carers and young people. As an ETFC, your role will be to provide the secure family setting like our other extraordinary Foster Carers would, but also provide the therapeutic environment and practical support that helps the young person on their journey to recovery.
Fostering Young People
Give young people an opportunity to reclaim their childhood and discover the safety, stability and consistency a Foster Carer can provide.
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Fostering young people is about giving a safe & caring family home to a needy young person. For many of us, our childhood's were carefree and filled with love, adventure & fun. But sadly, for many young people who come into care, their childhood experience is quite different.
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Fostering enables young people to reclaim the childhood they deserve, providing them with the security to be themselves, explore their skills and have the experience of being carefree. You could change the lives of young people, giving them a childhood that knows safety, stability and consistency. We'll be by your side, supporting you through everything to help them to grow, thrive and regain the innocent pleasures of childhood.
Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child Fostering
We have identified that locally there is a significant shortage of families willing to provide a secure haven for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). Many of these young children will have fled countries plagued by war and conflict, enduring traumatic experiences along the way. Numerous UASC in the UK have undertaken perilous journeys to escape harrowing situations in their home nations.
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What does it entail to "Foster UASC"?
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These children have left their homes without the protection of their families or carers, facing the daunting prospect of being alone in a foreign land, often surrounded by individuals who cannot communicate in their native language.
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Due to the challenging circumstances these exceptionally vulnerable children have endured, unaccompanied or trafficked children often exhibit complex needs in addition to the typical challenges faced by looked-after children in the UK.
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What is the role of a USAC Foster Carer?
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A child might require support in coping with the loss of family or adjusting to a new cultural environment. However, at their core, these are children and young adolescents in need of a stable, safe, and secure living environment, assuring them that they are not alone.
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The Empower Family Group provides several supported living support services for older unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people, providing Empower Fostering with helpful knowledge, resources, and connections for information, which is why Empower Fostering, part of the Empower Family Group is looking specifically for new or transferring Foster Carers who can help. We offer a generous fostering allowance, access to specialist resources and support.
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In our wonderfully diverse society, Foster Carers have the opportunity to connect children with their broader community, including visits to mosques and churches of various denominations. Some children may have limited or no experience of speaking the English language, we will therefore be on hand to help establish connections with specialised agencies to support our Foster Carers and children with the help they need. While it is crucial to respect every child’s cultural beliefs and religion, which we support all our Foster Carers with.
Respite Fostering
Our respite foster carers play an important role in supporting families to take a little break. Respite fostering (we call them stay overs for children) is a type of short-term foster placement where the child or children are placed with your family in order to provide a breather to their current family. Respite foster care allows for a needed break that families often require when taking care of children.
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Often in foster families, the level of a care that a foster child needs can be challenging. Children who have come from a traumatic past, or children with disabilities or special educational needs may require a great deal of care and attention. A respite foster care placement allows for both the carers and the children to have a break, recharge and have some space. Where possible, children go to the same respite foster carers each time so that the child can build good relationships and feel comfortable.
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Respite care can be from as little as overnight, to a weekend or as long as a fortnight. This can be sporadic or a regular routine for the child in care.
As a respite foster carer, you will have breaks between placements – and be able to know when these breaks take place. This means you can organise your schedule and life to fit around respite foster care placements. Many respite foster carers continue to work whilst they offer respite care during weekends and school holidays, and Empower will support you in understanding what time and support you have available to offer to children.
