Fostering

No. You can own your own home or be renting or live in Council-provided accommodation.

Yes. You can be a single male or female. You can be in a same sex relationship. You can be married, separated or divorced - it really doesn't matter, as long as you can provide a stable and caring home.

Yes, although this would limit you with the type of care you'd be able to offer. You can also be working part-time, or not working at all.

• Respite, which can be as short as one night through to 3 weeks

• Short term, up to two years

• Long term, two years and upwards

You can choose one, two or all three areas.

You are normally approved for an age range of children that fits with your own expectations and circumstances and also the skills that you can offer.

Ideally yes, however it is possible for younger children to sometimes share a room with your own children.

The minimum age is 21. There is no maximum age, you are simply assessed on an ongoing basis, as long as you're able to offer a good standard of care.

Yes. Foster carers should never end up out of pocket. There's a weekly allowance that's paid that covers the cost of any child that's placed with you.

There are also skills-based payments that are available for those who have gained a little experience and have undertaken relevant qualifications (funded by the City Council). Please refer to the Fostering Finance document on this webpage for full payment details.

You can still foster, but it won't be possible to foster 0-5 year olds.

Yes. If you live together, or are planning to live together, and even if you're planning on being the primary carer, there is an expectation that your partner will have background checks done and will come on the training courses and be assessed alongside you.

Following on from an initial home visit, should we be happy for you to progress, we will send you the full application form. Once we've had the completed form back, it then takes a maximum of 8 months to complete the assessment. The assessment will involve background checks that are run by independent bodies and the time it takes for the checks to come back to us is variable.

As part of the assessment there's also a training course that will help inform you of some of the challenges you may face and provide you with the skills you'll need for fostering placements.

The disclosure of a criminal record will not necessarily stop you from fostering. During your assessment your supervising social worker would look at the nature of the offence, how long ago it was committed and the age you were when it was committed and will then decide if the conviction renders you unsuitable to become a foster carer.

You will be asked to declare any conviction or cautions which you may have. Any offences, which you may have committed, will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Any information you give will be treated in confidence and will only be used in relation to your fostering application. Information received from the Disclosure and Barring Service will be kept in strict confidence and will be destroyed when your fostering application is complete.

Failure to declare a conviction may adversely affect your application to become a foster carer.

You would need to make your benefits advisor aware that you are fostering. It is also advisable to register as being self employed.

The fostering allowances that are paid are to cover the cost of having children living with you in your home. Income Support would not be affected while you have a child in placement. Our Fostering and Benefits guide provides further information. There are generous income thresholds relating to fostering income and Working Tax credit, which you are unlikely to exceed.

Find out more about Fostering relief.

Once approved as a foster carer for Southampton City Council you automatically become a member of FosterTalk who can provide a discounted tax return service and also have a helpline to provide advice if needed.