The first step to becoming a foster carer is to contact us. We embrace diversity and welcome enquiries from people of any ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. We welcome single carers or couples, married or living together. There are a few requirements to be able to foster. These include:
- You must be over 21 years of age
- You must have at least one spare bedroom
When you contact us, we will arrange to visit you in your home and talk to you about how you become a foster carer with us. We call this the ‘initial visit’. The next steps will involve a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, taking references and a medical check-up. Past convictions will show up on the DBS so it’s a good idea to discuss these at the initial visit if you have any. If all the checks prove satisfactory we will start the next stage of the assessment. The total process could take up to six months but we would hope to complete the assessment in three to four months.