Fostering, adopting and looked after children
These pages are intended to guide you to the right people and information to get you started with the best advice on adoption and fostering.
Mary DewardTeam Leader - Substitute Care Team
East Renfrewshire Council
Lygates House
224 Ayr Road
Newton Mearns
G77 6FR
Telephone: 0141-577-3367
Email: mary.deward@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
National guidelines and information
All you need to know on the government's guidelines on adoption can be found at.
The next steps
If you want to discuss fostering in more detail, please complete our online enquiry form.
A social worker will contact you to arrange to visit your family in your own home to discuss the challenges and rewards more fully and to find out some information about your family.
This visit is about information sharing and does not commit you to proceed any further.
You may decide that this is not the right time for your family to continue with your enquiry. It would be helpful if you could complete the online form stating this decision.
You may then attend a series of preparatory groups that will give you more detailed information on the tasks of fostering and the opportunity to meet with experienced carers, to assist you in making your decision about whether or not you wish to proceed with an application to foster children in need.
If you decide to apply to become a carer, you will be asked to complete an application form.
This form provides basic factual details about your family and gives consent to certain enquiries being made about anyone aged 16 years and over who lives within your family home.
The enquiries are:
Are you known to the social work department?
Are you known to your local health board?
Do you have any criminal convictions?
What is your state of health? – you will be expected to undergo a full medical examination by your local doctor.
You will be expected to provide four personal references from individuals who have known you well over a long period of time, including a family member and an employer reference. Your referees will be asked to complete a form and they will be interviewed by the social worker carrying out your assessment.
Any information gained from the above enquiries will not necessarily prevent any family from proceeding with their assessment. However, any evidence of child care concerns will mean that the assessment will not proceed.
The assessment process takes approximately five months and a written report will be provided at the end of the process.
Caring for someone else’s child is a stressful and responsible task and we need to get to know families well enough to conclude that they will provide positive and safe care for children.
The assessment process involves both gathering information about your family and assisting your family to prepare for the tasks ahead and to consider any changes that might be required in the way your family currently operates.
You will be asked for a full history from birth, such as what was your childhood like, if you have made any changes in your parenting because of these experiences, your employment history, how you spend your leisure time, how much time you have to care for a child, how your relationships work, how you resolve disagreements, whether you plan to have more children, what your household rules are and whether you have space within your home.
The assessment also involves providing your family with as much information as possible about the reasons for children being accommodated, how their experiences might have affected their development and behaviour, the tasks involved in sharing the care with the department, the legal issues, safe care for children etc.
You will see the assessment report which will be presented to the adoption or fostering panel with a recommendation from your social worker about whether or not your application should be approved and what kind of child might fit best into your family. You will be asked to sign the report before it is presented to the panel.
The panel will then make a recommendation to the council’s chief social work officer who will make the decision on acceptance of a family’s application.
If you are interested in adopting a baby (a child aged two years and under) you will be asked to attend an information meeting and a preparation group before an application is accepted. These meetings are held in Glasgow and families from a range of councils will be present.
Preparation groups are sometimes available for families wishing to provide other forms of care but availability is dependent upon the number of families interested in applying at any one time.
Applications are accepted from single people and from married couples for adoption and also from unmarried partners in stable relationships for fostering.
Families can be employed or unemployed whether their interest is in adoption or fostering.
Families must have space within their home for another child and it is preferable that an accommodated child has his or her own bedroom.
Allowances
These are the allowances set for the period 2007-2008
In East Renfrewshire our allowances are higher than those recommended by the Fostering Network and reflect the costs associated with looking after someone else’s child in your home.
We also pay four extra weeks allowance for birthdays and holidays.
Allowances are age related and our current rates are as follows:
Weekly fostering allowance
Age of child | Allowance |
|---|---|
0-4 | £200.00 |
5-11 | £300.00 |
12 years and over | £400.00 |
Foster carers who look after children and young people with sustained and complex difficulties will receive the above age related allowance plus an additional £50 per week.
Shared Carers
up to 6 hours – £25.00
up to 12 hours – £50.00
overnight – £20.00 (plus the appropriate day rate)
Respite Care
up to 10 hours – £25.00
24 hour period (overnight care) – £45.00
Supported Carers
£300 per week
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