Types of fostering

Short term fostering

This is most people's idea of fostering. Children will come to stay with you for a few days or several months or sometimes longer. You’ll provide a safe and stable home to live while we try to reunite the child with their family or find a permanent family or foster home.

Long term fostering

Long-term fostering allows children and young people to stay in a fostering family where they can grow up in a safe and stable home. Children and young people can stay with their foster carers until they reach 18 and sometimes beyond this as a ‘Staying Put’ agreement. Long term foster carers help children and young people to maintain contact with their birth families too.

Connected person care

This is also known as kinship care and family and friend fostering. Becoming a connected foster carer means the local authority have arranged for a child who you know to come and live with you.  This happens when the child’s parents are unable to look after them on a short or long term basis. You could be the child’s grandparents, uncles, brother or sister, neighbour or a close friend of the family. Find out more about connected person care.

New Horizon fostering scheme

New Horizon is a different kind of fostering scheme that aims to help Walsall children currently living in children’s homes. These homes might be miles away from their family and friends. We want to support children so they can stay in Walsall borough and be cared for by local foster carers. We are looking for people with the skills and experience to provide them with therapeutic, empathetic care.

Find out more about what experience you'll need, payments for being a New Horizon carer and how to apply.

Emergency foster carer scheme

The Emergency Fostering Scheme provides access to a foster home in an emergency situation or out of office hours for children who are in crisis and where immediate safeguarding measures are needed to keep them safe. As an Emergency Foster Carer you will help make a real difference to the lives of some of our children in care. We need people with skills and experience in working with young people to provide therapeutic, empathetic care to children (usually aged 10-18). These children, usually aged 10-18, have often faced trauma, abuse, or neglect and need a home in an emergency.  

Download our leaflet to learn more about what experience you will need, payments and benefits you will receive and how to apply. 

Short breaks

The Short Breaks scheme enables young people with disabilities or complex needs to have regular short breaks with foster carers. If you feel you have relevant skills and experience and could offer this type of care then please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Find out more

Contact us using the buttons below to ask more questions, find out how to apply or to enquire about transferring to foster with Walsall.