About Evergreen Foster Care

We would not consider it appropriate for your own children to move out of their existing bedroom or to share a bedroom to enable you to foster a child. All children that are fostered have to have their own bedroom for their sole use, this also applies to our part-time ‘stayover’ foster carers.

As part of the ‘fostering assessment’ we will need to visit your home to see if it is suitable for fostering. We would not be able to proceed with your application until any major building work necessary has been carried out, and you are settled in your home. We also ask that you have no plans to move home within 12 months of a child being placed with you.

We have a wide range of foster carers who all have different family and personal circumstances. Many carers are single (male and female), some have not had children of their own. There are many one-parent families who successfully bring up children on their own. We do however look at what experience they have had that will bring the skill base required to become a foster carer within our service. For example, working with challenging children, supporting a relative with challenging situations regarding their children, professional roles that bring skills of relevance, such as nursing, teaching, nursery nurse and support worker.

Yes, we welcome same-sex couples to foster our children and young people.

Your health will be considered when applying to foster and any long-term conditions are considered. The most important factor is whether you are physically and psychologically fit enough to cope with the demands of caring for a child. This may vary depending on the age of the children that you are approved for.

You will need to be over 21 years old before you can apply to foster a child. There is no upper age limit in relation to fostering. We will carry out regular checks (including medical) to determine your fitness and ability to care for a child.

Past mental illness is not a barrier to becoming a foster carer. In fact, there is no diagnosis that can automatically prevent you fostering. However, you would need to discuss this with any fostering service provider that you apply to. A medical report is always sought as part of the assessment process, and you would also need to consider the emotional impact on your mental health.

You can apply to become a foster carer if one of your children has a disability. The fostering service provider that you apply to will want to discuss with you how you would balance the needs of any children who are placed with you with those of your own child and what the impact of having other children in their home could be on your own child.

Fostering involves the whole family and will affect your children. The children of foster carers play a key role in the fostering household and should be included in all stages of the fostering process. It can be tough for children who find themselves sharing their parents with children who have led very different lives. However, many children also say that they have enjoyed their parents’ fostering and learnt a lot from it. Foster carers say it is important to continue making time for your own children and ensure that they still feel they are special to you. Research suggests that it is preferable to have a reasonable age gap (either older or younger) between your children and those you foster. Some fostering services run groups that support sons and daughters of foster carers. Evergreen Foster Care provides regular comfort breaks for the whole fostering family, which allows you to make time for your own children.

As part of the assessment to become a foster carer, you will have discussions about the appropriate age range, hobbies, and interests of a child you wish to foster, and any other considerations. All fostering families will be well-matched and planned, but ultimately a foster carer has the right to turn down placements recommended by us.

It is inevitable that, as foster carers, there will be some children who you find fit in better with your family. Some children will also take time to adjust to living in your home. However, if there is a real problem with a child, then it is important to discuss this with your social worker. You may find if things are not working out for you, then the child will also be feeling that this is not the right place for them. It may be that with extra support or training, caring for that child or young person becomes easier and more enjoyable. However, sometimes, it may be best for a child to move to another foster family.

Previous financial problems should not prevent you from fostering. You will need to be able to show that you are now financially secure enough to provide a stable home for any children who are placed with you and that you are able to manage the fostering allowances paid to you.

Fostering involves the whole family. We would expect you to have discussed your wish to foster with all members of your household, including children. Everyone’s views are important, as are their feelings in relation to having a fostered child living with them. Your supervising social workers will talk to your children and referees about their thoughts and feelings regarding you becoming a foster carer.

Yes, as they could affect such things as the age or sex of child placed with you if you were to be approved as a foster carer.

The assessment process is very thorough, and applicants must be prepared for the robust assessment and be transparent and honest at all times. Ask Evergreen Foster Care about the checks that will have to be completed as part of the assessment process.

If you have been married previously, or have had a prior significant relationship with another person, or have had a prior child together, we will need to contact them to gather or confirm information. This is part of the family assessment we are required to carry out on all prospective foster carers.

We will treat each case sensitively as we understand that not all relationships end amicably. If there is a reason why it would be unsafe to contact an ex-partner, then we will consider this during the assessment and make an informed decision.

Ponds will need to be either filled in or have a solid cover to prevent children from falling in. We carry out a health and safety check to identify other risks as part of the fostering assessment.

If anyone in your house smokes, you cannot be considered to care for children under five years old. This also includes people who only smoke occasionally. If you are in the process of quitting, you will need to consult your GP and provide evidence that you have given up smoking for at least a year prior to your application.

We must carry out several checks on potential foster carers. This includes whether anyone in your household has any criminal convictions or cautions. All household members must have a compulsory, enhanced DBS check. When carrying out checks we are made aware of all past criminal records, these include offences as a juvenile or under 18 years old. Please note that not all criminal convictions will prevent you from becoming a foster carer. However, there are certain offences that will prevent you, for example offences against children.

Evergreen Foster Care provides our full time/primary foster carers with a professional fee of £32,136.00 per year which means we expect that they do not work alongside their fostering responsibilities. This will ensure you can participate in our comprehensive training and support package. We don’t advise anyone to give up work until you have been approved by our Agency Decision Maker and we will help you to plan the transition from your current job to that of a foster carer. In most two parent households, the other person usually continues to work. Part-time foster carers can continue to work during the week as they are only providing care during weekends and school holidays. They just need to ensure that they are available during these periods.

With all bankruptcies there is a period defined when you are not able to set up another business. All foster carers are now classed as self-employed and as such we would not be able to consider you as a foster carer until the stipulated time has lapsed.

Yes, this is correct, the cost of this is the agencies responsibility and the medical is made up of a self-assessment medical questionnaire and medical examination to ensure you are fit to foster.

We do not expect your son/daughter to give up their bedroom to allow you to foster, as they are likely to return for at least part of the time.

The period during and after fertility treatment is often a very stressful and emotional time. We would not consider any application to become a foster carer immediately before, during or immediately after fertility treatment. If applicants have received fertility treatment in the past, this will be fully discussed and explored as part of our assessment process.

No this would not be advised and we would not be able to proceed with your application. This is because part of the checks we conduct involves speaking to social care about any family involvement in such matters.

You must have good IT skills and have access to a PC or tablet and be prepared to use IT to complete reports. Evergreen Foster Care use a mobile phone application for daily reports. We will also have an expectation that you are confident in the use of emails, Word, and Excel. We will provide additional training specifically for this to ensure you can fulfil these fostering responsibilities. Some meetings are conducted via video call, so you will need to be confident in this area and participate on such calls in a professional manner.

Evergreen Foster Care expects the main foster carer to attend fortnightly 4-hour training and development sessions (10am-2pm), attend regular therapy sessions, and routine meetings for the child. It is therefore impracticable to participate in additional work alongside this. Evergreen Foster Care offers a professional allowance to take all of this into account, so it shouldn’t be necessary to work in addition to this role. If you are struggling financially, you must discuss this with your supervising social worker.

Yes of course but there will be an expectation that they attend some training and support sessions.

All our child placements are solo placements. You can have your own dependent children and a child would be carefully matched alongside them. Evergreen Foster Care understands that children moving from children’s homes are more likely to succeed if they are the only foster child in placement.

Yes, there is an expectation that our foster carers support their children with any planned family time but we also understand how hard this can be. We therefore provide full training so you are confident about how to manage this, and to ensure it’s supported in the best way. We know that foster carers who have a good relationship with birth families are more likely to have happy and stable foster placements.

British citizenship is not required to be a foster carer in the UK. However, most fostering services would expect you to be a full-time resident in the UK. Children from a wide range of backgrounds require a fostering placement, so foster families usually come from all walks of life. If you are in the UK for a limited time, fostering services will take this into consideration due to the time and cost implications of approving people to foster.

Evergreen Foster Care is proud and fortunate to have robust relationships with local special schools, and we will work in partnership with them if the foster child requires an education provision. Advantages of this include the opportunity to apply the same consistent model at home and in school, which is more likely to result in a positive outcome for all. Foster carers can also be reassured that the child is in long-term education with a school which understands and is experienced in caring for children. Our experience shows us that children who are not is steady education can feel isolated and misunderstood, which places a great strain on our fostering families. We know that some education settings can struggle to meet the needs of our foster children, and this can negatively impact on family life and everyone’s well-being. It is anticipated that the children we are fostering will attend one of these special schools (subject to the agreement of the Local Authority), however if the child is already settled in their current school we will continue to facilitate this and match them to foster carers that live close by. Our foster carers are not expected to transport the foster child to school if the child has an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) and live more than 5 miles away from the school. This is so our foster carers can have the appropriate time to participate in our comprehensive training and support package.

Many children in foster care do not have English as a first language and being placed in a home where their first language is spoken can be very beneficial for them. You will need a good level of spoken and written English to be able to communicate with other professionals, support children’s education and make notes and keep records. If you have any communication needs, the fostering service should be willing to discuss this with you.

It does not matter what your religion is, and this should not affect your application to foster. Children should be placed with foster families that can meet their needs, including religious needs. However, you would need to consider how you would feel about discussing issues such as alternative religious beliefs with a child, ensuring that you abide by Evergreen Foster Care’s policies on such matters.