Fostering in West Bromwich
Many children and young people in West Bromwich cannot be looked after by their own parents, for a number of reasons. There could be internal conflict within the family, or maybe a family illness that means a parent is not physically able to take care of their children. Sadly, the most common reason is some form of abuse or neglect. TACT are recruiting foster carers in West Bromwich to provide guidance and care to these children.
You don’t need any previous experience to become a foster carer, as full training will be provided. To start the application process, you just need at least one spare bedroom in your home, a caring and nurturing character – and lots of energy to provide a child with a secure and loving home. If this sounds like something that you could do, you could join our … Fostering team!
Can I foster?
The first step is to check that you fulfil the basic general fostering requirements:
- Are you at least 21 years old?
- Do you have at least one spare bedroom in your home?
- Are you a full-time resident of the UK, or do you have indefinite leave to remain?
If you have answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, you have fulfilled the initial criteria. We would now like to talk to you further about why you would like to become a foster carer, and ask you some more questions.
Why Foster in West Bromwich with TACT?
TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity – enabling us to provide care for children on a national level. We reinvest any surplus income into providing more support and training for foster carers interested in fostering.
As one of the leading fostering agencies in West Bromwich , we provide our foster carers with training and support that is local to them – to enable them to change young people’s lives. Because we reinvest surplus income, we can provide additional support over and above what is required of a fostering charity, such as a dedicated education service, health service and an online foster carer portal.
Were more than just a fostering agency – we go above and beyond to look after our foster carers and the children they provide care for. Our TACT Connect service ensures that when children leave the care system, they have TACT’s support for life.
This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.
24/7 Support
We understand how important a high level of support is to our foster carers, which is why we reinvest surplus income into providing more support for our fostering families.
Also, our Supervising Social Workers have manageable workloads, so that they are able to dedicate more time to you. After all, the better we support you, the better you will be able to provide the care and guidance required to change children’s lives.
This is what we provide:
- Full 24/7 support. Your Supervising Social Worker will usually provide all the support you need, but we also have a dedicated out-of-hours support service for total peace of mind.
- Foster carer portal. An online community of TACT foster carers and a place to find information, advice, training and other resources to help you with your day-to-day life as a foster carer.
- Education service. Our specialist service provides support and advice to help ensure that the children in your care receive the best possible educational opportunities.
- Health service. Our health service will help ensure that the children in your care receive relevant physical and mental health monitoring.
- Support groups. Our support groups operate all over the country, and provide you with a local outlet to meet other carers in your area, share experiences and knowledge, and even make new friends!
- Support for young people. Our Children’s Resource Workers provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events.
- Supporting your own children. We understand that your own children play an important role in the fostering household. As such, our Children Who Foster events provide your own children with an opportunity to socialise with other young people who make an amazing contribution to fostering.
- Peer support. In some areas, peer-to-peer support may be available. These work by pairing newly approved foster carers with experienced TACT carers to provide another level of support.
Questions About Fostering?
Are there different types of fostering agencies?
Foster carer’s in the UK have the choice of registering to work with a local authority or with an independent fostering agency (IFA). Here at TACT we are classed as an IFA, but unlike many others, we are a charity who make zero profit from the work we do. This means all our surplus income is reinvested into helping the children we care for and their foster carers.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://tactfostering.org.uk/whats-difference-fostering-local-authorities-independent-fostering-agencies/u0022u003eRead more about the differences hereu003c/au003e.
How much do foster carers get paid?
As soon as you’re an approved foster carer with TACT and begin caring for a young person, you will u003cstrongu003eimmediately u003c/strongu003ereceive a fostering allowance.rnrnThe total fostering allowance that you receive will vary based on a number of factors, including the type of foster care you are providing, the number or children that you care for and their age, as well as the complexity of their needs.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://tactfostering.org.uk/start-fostering/fostering-allowance/u0022u003eFind out how much you’ll be paid hereu003c/au003e.rnrnu0026nbsp;
What support do foster carers receive?
For total piece of mind, TACT provide their foster carers with 24/7 support. When you become a foster carer with us, you will be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker – who will provide most of the support that you will need.rnrnWe have also developed a set of specialist support services including Therapeutic Support and our Education Team.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://tactfostering.org.uk/start-fostering/support-and-training/fostering-support/u0022u003eRead more about the support we offer here.u003c/au003e
Are there different types of fostering?
Children and young people come into care for different reasons which is why there are different types of foster care.rnrnSome of our foster carers specialise in specific types of foster care, whereas others have skills and experience that allow them to provide a wide range of different care. Whichever type of foster care you are interested in providing, we will offer you a whole range of training and support to help you grow your knowledge so you can offer the best care possible.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://tactfostering.org.uk/start-fostering/types-of-fostering/u0022u003eLearn about the different types of fostering here.u003c/au003e
Do foster carers receive any training?
Our commitment extends beyond the conventional training and development opportunities for our foster carers. We’re on our journey to becoming a trauma-informed organisation, and are actively integrating this trauma-informed approach into our training programmes for our foster carers and staff.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://tactfostering.org.uk/start-fostering/support-and-training/foster-carer-training/u0022u003eLearn more about the training we offer here.u003c/au003e