Types of
foster care

Every child’s journey is unique, and their foster care needs vary based on their circumstances. Some require immediate assistance, short-term breaks, or long-term stability. Whether for a brief stay or a lasting commitment, our foster carers are dedicated to meeting each child’s specific needs.

When you decide to foster, we’ll guide you through the process to find the best fit for you, your family, and your situation.

There are different types of foster care offered in Barnsley. These include; short-term and long-term fostering, stayover or respite care, emergency care and specialist fostering. Read more about these by clicking the buttons below.

Short-term fostering

In some instances we need to decide what the best course of action is for a child’s future. Short-term foster care means that a child is cared for by a fostering family for a short period of time. It might be an overnight stay, or it could be up to a year. If you choose to foster short term you will provide a safe and secure home until a long term solution is found. We may reunite them with their birth family or find a long term placement or adoption.

Long-term fostering

Sometimes a child can't go back to their own family. The best thing for them is to find a long-term foster family. Long-term foster carers open their homes for many years. If you choose to foster long term, the child would become a member of your family and live with you until they're 18.

We regularly check with our long-term foster carers to make sure the child or young person is happy in their new home. If possible, you would help the child stay connected with their birth family in a positive way.

Respite care

Our respite carers offer sleepovers, which give essential respite to a birth family or another fostering family. This is normally over an evening, a weekend, or a couple of weeks over the school holidays.

Our respite carers help give our children in care some time away from home, in a place where they feel comfortable. If you choose this type of foster care, you can expect to look after a child for a day or a night through pre-planned arrangements.

Parent and child fostering

Some young parents have very limited support networks and find themselves unable to meet their baby's basic needs. They may need a place to live with someone who can support them without taking over their parenting responsibilities. Our foster carers help new parents learn how to care for their child, in a safe and welcoming home.

"We're really glad fostering
happened for us, I wouldn't change
a thing about what we've done."

Nicola, foster carer

Emergency care

Sometimes, we urgently need foster care for a child or young person. This is called emergency care. Emergency foster carers play a crucial role in providing immediate support when a child needs it most. We ensure our emergency foster carers are well-prepared for these important moments of care.

Short breaks care

Our short breaks foster carers provide regular support for children with additional needs. This might look like caring for a child for a couple of nights every month, or a regular weekend arrangement. You could also help give a child a break away from their parents, for example helping them to get involved in social activities during weekends, holidays or after school.

Specialist fostering

We value our foster carers with specialist skills, who can care for children and young people who are experiencing difficult feelings, or may have additional needs. Finding the right home for a child or young person can be really transformational.