When it comes to foster care, it can never be deemed a fit profession for adults who don’t actually enjoy the company of children. However, that does not take the professional aspect out of it either. If you are considering your options as a potential foster care provider, then you must consider the professional aspects of the job as well.
Fostering as a Paying, Fulltime Job
Foster care is a government backed system which allows children to find temporary safe shelters during times when their previous home is deemed unfit and/or unsafe for them. Most children that visit foster care homes eventually go back to their biological parent(s) or original guardian(s), but some don’t have that option left to them, unfortunately. They would need to be raised in long-term foster care homes until they turn 18.
Foster parents are registered adults who provide a safe home and care for the foster children they take in. However, fostering is neither charity work, nor is it adoption. Foster parents are paid as professional caregivers by their respective foster care agencies. How much a foster parent will receive as payment is highly variable though since it is decided on the basis of several factors which includes but is not limited to:
- The type of foster care that the parent is capable of providing.
- The child’s age, history, and special needs (if any).
- The foster parent’s background, qualification, experience, and training in relation to childcare and/or management.
- The location.
- The foster care service that the foster parents are working with.
Visit fcascotland.co.uk if you want to know more precise information about fostering allowances and retainer fees in Scotland.
Can You Hold Another Job while Fostering Children?
This is a somewhat dubious area as there are no definite rules that directly prevent a foster care parent form working. Nevertheless, if a foster parent does indeed decide to hold a job, it cannot interfere with their fostering duties because they take precedence. Therefore, most foster parents who work, usually work part-time. If you live with your partner, then your partner is free to hold a fulltime job, provided that he/she is not a registered foster parent as well.
What Kind of Training and/or Experience Can Help Foster Parents?
Experienced and trained foster parents are more capable of helping a much wider range of foster children. They also tend to earn more since they have the skills necessary to handle some of the more difficult children. Although the following list is not comprehensive, it should be sufficient to provide you with a better idea regarding the skills necessary to become a professional foster carer:
- Prior experience in raising children, including their own.
- Teaching qualifications and experience.
- Counselling qualifications and experience.
- Qualification and training that certifies them as a specialist therapeutic.
- Qualifications, training and experience with childcare, adoption, and fostering.
Do note that in Scotland or in any other part of the United Kingdom, you do not need any special qualifications to become a foster parent. Being a legal age citizen/permanent resident with a driving license and a spare room for foster kids at home is pretty much all it takes to apply at your local foster care agency. In fact, if any training is deemed necessary, it might be provided to you by the foster care agency itself.
