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Caring for Children

Adoption and Fostering are two ways of providing a secure future for a child within a family, depending upon individual circumstances.

Adoption
- Adoption - Adoption is a way of providing a new family for children who cannot live with and be brought up by their birth parents.
Fostering
- Fostering - This is a way of providing family life for children who cannot live with their birth parents, whilst plans are made for their future. This may be to return to their birth family, be adopted or remain in long-term foster care.
- Short break caring - opportunities for foster carers to support children for short periods of time. Includes Family Link - a scheme matching foster carers, disabled children and their families.
Other ways to secure a child's future:
- Special Guardianship - The purpose of the order is to give the child the security of a permanent home until the age of 18 and beyond. It is a court order which gives parental responsibility to the person who is caring for the child.
- Family and Friends Care - This is when close relatives of a child who has been involved with Children's Services come forward to care for that child.
- Private Fostering - An arrangement made by parents for their child to live with someone who is not a close relation, and the child remains with that person for 28 days or more.
- Residence Order - An order which states who the child will live with and which gives that person parental responsibility so that they can make all the day to day decisions concerning that child, subject to certain restrictions.