Can anyone become a foster carer?

All kinds of people can foster.

Fostering is primarily about having the time and energy to meet the needs of the child or young person in your care. You must be able to commit yourself wholeheartedly to caring for someone who really needs your help, and have a stable home environment to provide to them. You will need to be flexible, non-judgmental, patient and understanding.

You also need to be able to care for children and young people who may present challenging behaviour. Foster care involves setting clear boundaries, and being firm as well as understanding.

There is no single description of what sort of person a foster parent has to be. Foster parents come from across the community – our carers can be single, married, de facto, gay, straight, and come from a diverse range of religious and ethnic backgrounds. Some carers have their own children or grandchildren, some have no children, some are stay-at-home carers and some work full time.

We are looking for foster carers who can care for children of all ages, but particularly children over the age of 6, as well as families who can look after groups of brothers and sisters who need to stay together. You may be someone with the skills to care for children and young people with complex needs and be interested in this intensive and specialised form of foster care.

If you have patience, energy, tolerance, commitment and a passion for making a difference, please call us now on 09 625 0550 or email us.
 

Further links:

• About fostering
• Can anyone become a foster carer?
• What does being a foster parent involve?
• How do I become a foster carer?
• What kinds of care can I offer to children?
• What about the children?
• Why foster with Barnardos?
  
• What training will I get?
• What financial support will I receive?
• I am very interested, what do I do now?
• A caregiver’s story