Parent and Child Fostering
A specialist yet vital form of foster care where you can help a family to stay together during challenging times.
What is Parent and Child Fostering?
Parent and child fostering is a specialised form of foster care aimed at keeping families together. This type of fostering was previously referred to as ‘mother and baby foster placement’ but is now commonly called ‘parent and child fostering’. For a short period, foster carers offer guidance, support, and practical assistance to help parents develop essential parenting skills and create a stable and loving environment for their child. At Family Fostering Partners, we understand the importance of stability and support, for both parents, their children, and our fostering families.
Parent and child fostering is a type of placement that offers a stable and nurturing home environment for a parent and their child, often a mother and baby. These placements typically last for around 12 weeks and are designed to support families grappling with challenges like homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, or mental health issues, where they may struggle to provide safe and loving care for their child without support. Often it will just be a mother and her baby in the foster placement, but occasionally, a father and child, or both parents and their child may enter a placement.
Supporting Families with Guidance and Care
People who have previously or are currently facing difficulties in their lives may not have the necessary support or skills to care for their child adequately. Our ‘parent and child’ foster carers are trained to provide this guidance and support, helping parents obtain the essential skills required to create a secure and loving environment for their child.
In return, we provide our foster parents ongoing training to help them to provide the very best care. Find out more from Hannah about the training and support we provide to our foster parents.
In addition to internal training and support, you will also have access to foster talk. This platform provides free legal and medical advice, as well as discounts and savings.
Creating Stable Environments for Growth
We provide extensive training, support, and financial allowance to foster carers offering parent and child fostering placements. At Family Fostering Partners, we ensure our foster parents can provide stability and support for the family in their care. Our goal is to create environments where mothers, fathers and their babies can flourish and reach their full potential. Our commitment to supporting foster parents who offer mother and baby foster placements is an extension of this value and goal.
What's Involved in Parent and Child Fostering?
During a parent and child foster placement, our specially trained foster parents offer practical and emotional support, helping with daily tasks and creating a safe environment in which parents can be taught parenting skills, bond with their baby, and be assessed. These placements are temporary, often lasting 12 weeks. During this time, the foster parent will teach the parent in their care how to care for their child. The ultimate aim of parent and child fostering is to safeguard a child from harm, keep families together where appropriate, or to create a future care plan for the child.
Becoming a Parent and Child Foster Carer
If you’re interested in fostering babies or young children, and making a difference to the lives of families, consider becoming a parent and child foster carer. Mother and baby fostering offers an opportunity to break cycles of poor parenting and provide stability to families in need of support.
If you’re ready to make a significant positive impact, fill out the contact form to enquire about becoming a foster parent with Family Fostering Partners. Our dedicated team will be delighted to assist and guide you.