Emergency
When children need somewhere safe to stay for a few nights on an emergency basis.
Short Breaks
Short breaks carers provide support to full-time foster carers by offering weekend and holiday care. This is often essential to allow full-time carers a break and spend time with their own family. Some foster carers also provide children who live with their birth family short breaks in foster care to support the family to remain living together long-term.
Interim (temporary) Foster Carers
Interim carers (sometimes known as temporary/short-term foster carers) look after children for a few weeks, months or occasionally longer while plans are made for the child’s long-term future. This can last up to 2 years.
Long-term Foster Carers
Long-term foster carers provide a safe and loving family home for young people who are unable to return to the care of their birth family for the foreseeable future. Long-term foster care usually lasts for longer than 2 years.
Permanent Foster Carers
Permanent foster carers look after a child, where a decision has been made that they cannot return to the care of their family, for the remainder of their childhood. Permanent foster carers commit to care for the child as part of their family at least up to the age of 18 years and often beyond. This will usually mean that the child is involved in all the normal family activities, just as their birth children would be, i.e. going on holiday with the carers, being invited to family celebrations.