Parent and child foster care

Parent and child foster care is when you take in a mother and/or father along with their new baby.

What types of parent and child placements are there?

There are two types of parent and child foster placement:

Nurturing placements are typically needed for teenage parents whose family connections cannot support them in the community. These parents have typical teenage difficulties ranging from substance abuse and attachment disorders to just plain angry and confused people needing an understanding adult to guide them through childbirth and baby care.

To provide nurturing placements you will need a spare room big enough for the parent and child. You do not have to particularly enjoy caring for babies because your role will be to support the parent in caring for their child. However, you may occasionally end up caring for a baby if the parent decides to leave or we decide that the parent is unable to meet the child's needs.

Assessment placements are usually the result of court orders relating to a baby. An in-depth assessment in a foster home is needed to establish whether the parent is able to meet the child's needs.

To provide assessment placements you will need enough space to provide the parent with independent cooking, eating and sleeping facilities. An en suite bed-sitting room, plus kitchen, within your family home would be ideal. It will be a bit like having an independent lodger, except that you will have to be aware of what is going on and listen for anything unusual that would make you knock on the door to ask if they are alright. Although you will need the self-control to hold back and watch the parent care for their child, you will be ultimately responsible for the child.

People with the space and motivation can find assessment placements very interesting. They require high levels of professionalism and you will have to communicate closely with your supervising social worker, the baby's social worker, health visitors, psychologists and other professionals. Your observations will be used as evidence when a decision is made on whether the parent can meet the child's needs long-term.

What are the good and bad points of parent and child foster care?

Parent and child foster care can be incredibly rewarding. The main reward comes from seeing a parent return to the community with their baby, knowing that without your support they may not have been able to raise the child. However, it can also be painful because it may sometimes be decided that a parent is unable to meet their child's needs. You will need to be strong, resilient and committed to putting the child's needs first.

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