What is emergency fostering?
Where there is an unexpected family crisis children may need to be moved very suddenly. We need foster carers who can take on children with little or no notice. This is emergency fostering. This could be anything from one night to 28 days.
Emergency fostering: a case study
Mercy, aged 4, and her brother, Buchi, aged 2, had no one to care for them when their mother had an accident and was admitted to hospital. Their father isn’t around and they don’t have a wider support network of family and friends to help at times like these. In emergencies like these, we have emergency foster carers. They understood that Mercy and Buchi might be worried about their mum and scared and confused about staying with somebody new and in a place that they haven’t been before.
Our emergency foster carer was able to take Mercy and Buchi in their home within a few hours and looked after them until their mother was out of hospital and well enough to have her children back at home with her again.
Could you be an emergency foster carer?
Do you have space in your home to look after a child or children at late notice? Do you have the empathy and compassion to give a child when they are unexpectedly away from home and their family?
You can speak to a member of our fostering team to find out more about what’s involved in emergency fostering on 0300 131 2797. If you’d like to arrange for us to call you, fill in our enquiry form.