Firefighters as foster carers: becoming a foster carer is no easy path, but one foster carer and serving firefighter believes firefighters' public spiritedness, dedication to work and shift patterns mean they can often make ideal foster carers

ANYONE CAN APPLY TO BE A foster carer. But that does not necessarily mean that everyone can become a foster carer. Fostering involves much more than being a caring person--although that is essential--and it is vital that fostering services ensure that each applicant is the right person for the job

The children coming into foster care may have lived through difficult experiences, and at the very least will be suffering from the trauma of separation from their family. Carers require specific skills and abilities to help children deal with these issues. All foster carers therefore undergo thorough training and assessment before they can begin to look after fostered children.

Crew manager David Hadjicostas has been a foster carer for 13 years for Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and has been with the Fire Service for 20 years. He encourages his fellow firefighters to think about fostering: "The process of becoming a foster carer is very rigorous, but is well worth it. Firefighters go through very complex training and the training people receive as foster carers is equally demanding. Firefighters are public spirited people and serve their communities in a selfless way, just as foster carers are dedicated to the work they do. The shift patterns are ideal for anyone interested in fostering because firefighters are often free during the day to help with the children and to attend training and meetings. In all of the years I've been a foster carer I've gained an enormous amount of personal satisfaction."

Prospective foster carers can choose to work for a local authority or for an independent fostering provider, although the assessment and training process will be similar in each case. Many fostering services give potential applicants the opportunity to meet with existing foster carers before beginning the approval process, to allow them to find out more about the realities, challenges and rewards of fostering.

The formal approval process includes visits from a social worker and help with completing a detailed application form. This is designed to identify the relevant skills which prospective carers already possess, and those that need to be further developed. The social worker will explore whether fostering is really the right option for the prospective carer and their family, and should ensure that the applicant understands the financial and practical support that they will receive.

Applicants also attend a series of evening or weekend group training sessions, which helps them learn about the issues involved in looking after fostered children. Many fostering services use the Fostering Network's, The Skills to Foster course, which introduces applicants to the needs of fostered children, working with parents and fostering services and issues such as managing behaviour. This course also provides training for the sons and daughters of foster carers, who will have an important role to play if their family chooses to foster.

To ensure that a prospective carer is not disqualified from working with children by the law, police checks are carried out. Following completion of the assessment and training course, final approval is recommended by a 'fostering panel', which includes social workers, foster carers and people who were fostered as children. Each carer is approved to foster a specific number, age and gender of children, and for a certain 'type' of fostering.

It usually takes at least six months from initial enquiry to approval as a foster carer. Once this has been granted, carers can begin to look after fostered children straight away, although their fostering service will continue to provide support and ongoing training.

The Fostering Network

Jackie Sanders is from the Fostering Network Foster Care Fortnight (May 9-22, 2005) organised by leading charity, the Fostering Network, with the aim of raising awareness of fostering and the need for more foster carers. During the two weeks, fostering services across the UK hold events and use publicity to encourage people to find out more about fostering. For further information on Foster Care Fortnight or becoming a foster carer, contact your local fostering service or the Fostering Network on Tel: 020 7620 6400; or Email: info@fostering.net; or visit: www.fostering.net

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