Safe Care Arrangements for Children & Young Adults: A Full Guide

Kids and young people who are in care must always feel safeguarded and protected. And not just that. They need to understand what must be done so they can protect themselves the right way, at any given moment.

This refers to various negative things, such as physical and mental abuse, accidents, neglect, etc. Those who work in foster care must prioritize the safety of children and young adults, which means that they need to focus on building rapport with them and establishing a culture and relationship that’s full of love and trust.

If God forbid these young people are in any trouble, or at risk of harm, it’s essential for fosters to recognize these problems (and signs in general) on time. Oftentimes, they are provided with specific training that’s going to help them create a safe environment, and concurrently, acquire the necessary skills that will help them tackle numerous challenging situations.

Is Kinship Carer A Good Option?

Kids and young people in general who aren’t capable of living with their biological families typically end up with foster parents, because that’s one of the best solutions in these instances. However, at times, foster agencies, along with kinship care agencies opt for a kinship carer because they perceive it as a better option. What happens then?

In these types of situations, children are sent to live with family friends, or relatives who are able to provide them with secure living conditions where they can lead a happy and healthy life. This option has become very popular in the past couple of years, because it gives children the chance to be surrounded by people who are familiar to them, and, at the same time, be in touch with their biological families.

Even though there’s nothing wrong with traditional foster care, kinship fostering is sometimes a better option because most young people feel a lot safer and more comfortable in this type of environment. 

That’s because they already know these people which is going to help them maintain a stable and loving relationship. Besides that, when they are placed with relatives, this entire transition becomes a lot less stressful for them.

What Happens Before A Child Is Put Into Foster Care?

No matter how rewarding fostering can be, it’s safe to say that it isn’t always easy, especially if this is your first time being a foster parent. That’s precisely one of the main reasons why foster carers are obligated to attend a three-day course that’s going to prepare them for this.

There are a variety of different things they will learn during this course. Among them is how to properly take care of a kid and ensure they live in a stable and healthy environment. 

Time For Evaluation 

The assessment form (which comes next) follows a skill-based recognized format, and along with that medical checks, Disclosure and Barring Service checks, interviews with former employers and partners, and personal references.

Why is all of this necessary? Namely, by conducting all these steps, foster agencies want to make sure that kids end up with a foster who is not going to harm them in any way. Apart from that, foster carers are obligated to go through a Health and Risk Assessment and also to make different modifications to fully eliminate the risks. 

Every family creates a Safe Care Policy which is going to demonstrate the steps they are going to take to ensure that a kid receives the proper care, and simultaneously, lower the risk of allegations of harm.

Anybody who decides to become a foster carer must provide evidence that's going to show that they are, in fact, capable of taking care of these children.

The Approval Process

Candidates who are perceived as reliable and trustworthy when it comes to foster care and typically visited by the Assessor, if they are approved, of course. Every foster parent is going to gain access to the online portal School 360, which means that they can go through the Family Placement Service Procedures and Foster Carers Handbook to get familiar with different policies, rules, procedures, and guidance.

Furthermore, it’s considered mandatory for foster carers to achieve certain training standards to ensure they are maintaining a specific level of safe care.

The Most Important Foster Carer Rules

Kids between the ages of 0 and 18 from various social and cultural backgrounds can be in foster care for a variety of different reasons. Those who want to become foster parents must create a space that's going to accommodate the specific needs and demands of these children. 

They must carefully think things through because, at the end of the day, a kid who is two years old and the one who is twelve years old cannot possibly have the same needs and behavior. If foster carers want to create a healthy and safe environment, they need to establish certain ground rules that are going to help them accomplish that. 

These rules should be shared with a foster kid when they determine that it's an appropriate time to do so.

What Are The Rights Of Foster Children?

Every single foster kid must have their rights recognized by the Safe Care Policy. This means that their demands and views must be taken into consideration, depending on their understanding and age.

If by any chance, they are dealing with some issues, they must know that they have every right to reach their foster carer and feel free to discuss these problems without worrying that they are going to be misunderstood. There are numerous Safe Care Policies that must be established and below a couple of them are going to be enumerated:

• A bedtime routine that's put in place

• They shouldn’t wear shoes in the household

• They aren’t allowed to take food from somebody else’s plate

• They aren't supposed to take food from the kitchen without permission

• They cannot slam doors

• Swearing is not permitted

• Smoking and drinking are prohibited inside and outside of the house

A lot of people aspire to become foster carers because they know how rewarding it can be and because they want to help foster children thrive, however, before you embark on this journey, you should first take a look at this guide to see what foster care truly encompasses.

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