Fostering a Child with a Disability

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There are many children of all ages and abilities who need a safe place to stay in Plymouth. Our aim at Foster for Plymouth is to ensure each of these children have a caring home where they are looked after and supported to thrive, whilst staying in the Plymouth area.

What you need to know about fostering a child with a disability

Every child at Foster for Plymouth is unique, and they all have different needs that they might need you to help with. This is why we provide comprehensive training and support for our foster carers to ensure they’re fully equipped to care for a child with disabilities, with confidence.

Some children may require specialist equipment and/or adaptations for them to safely access areas in and around the home. This will be discussed with you during our initial visit to your home, and we will ensure you have a clear understanding of what you are required to do during the child or young person’s stay with you.

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Benefits of Fostering a child with a disability at Foster for Plymouth

  • }24 Hour Foster Carer Support Access
  • vEffective Foster Carer Training
  • wRegular Foster Carer Support Groups
  • hCompetitive Foster Carer Payments
  • iAll Equipment and Home Adaptations Provided
  • You’ll Become Part of our Fostering Community and help keep children local!

Types of Disability Foster Care

Respite Foster Caring

Respite caring means that you’d care for a child in small bursts, maybe for a couple of days a month. Respite care happens because sometimes full-time foster carers might need some time off, and this ensures that they can have that. It is also a great opportunity for children to form relationships outside of the home!

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Full time Foster Caring

Being a full-time foster carer means you take on the care of a child for a period of time until they move on to a permanent placement. This means you might have to help the child with daily tasks, attend medical appointments and provide support.

Support and Training

We ensure that all our foster carers are equipped with all the appropriate knowledge to care for the child in their care. We do this by tailoring bespoke training plans based on the child and their needs to ensure we have everything covered for you to care for the child with confidence. This doesn’t mean that you’re on your own. You will have access to 24/7 support to ensure you can access help whenever you might need it.

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“We would encourage anybody to look at this remarkable group of young people. As my oldest says, they’re not scary, they just do things differently..”

Marcia, Foster Carer for Children with Disabilities.

Marcia and Martin Children with Disabilities Fostering

Our Foster Carer Community

We have built a community for our foster carers where they can rely on each other for support and to share experiences. We have regular support group meetings, activities during school holidays for children, and opportunities for foster carers to meet other carers and support staff. It’s important to us that everyone is supported through the process.

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Frequently Asked Questions about caring for a child with disabilities

Hopefully commonly asked questions here will help to answer questions you may also have about caring for a child with disabilities.

Do I Need Experience with Children with Disabilities?

Experience in anything always helps. But for fostering, it isn’t essential as we provide all the necessary training needed. We ensure you are effectively equipped with everything you need to ensure that you can work confidently to support the child in your care.

How do payments work when caring for a child with disabilities?

We want you to receive a fee that reflects the care and service you’re providing for local children. This is why we tailor our payments based on factors around the young persons’ care. Some children may require higher levels of care than others, or you may only be required to care for them for short periods of time. You can access more on our basic rate payments information page.

Feel ready to explore the next step to fostering a child with disabilities?
WE’ d LOVE TO TALK TO YOU.

There are 3 ways you can contact us

1. Call us

01752 308762

2. Email us

fostering@plymouth.gov.uk

3. Fill out the form below

 

Fostering for Plymouth