What is short breaks fostering?

Short breaks is a different type of fostering for children with disabilities, but a vital support for families.

Unlike standard fostering where children are in care because they are unable to live at home, children using the short breaks service are not in care and live with their families.  But due to their disability and family circumstances, children receive regular breaks with a short breaks foster parent.

This vital support enables families to take a well-earned break to recharge their batteries or have much needed one to one time with other siblings.  The service also enables a child with a disability to have new experiences and opportunities.

At Foster People we work with Birmingham Children’s Trust to provide this service to local families. Families are identified as needing the additional support provided by the service by Birmingham Children’s Trust and referred to us at Fostering People.

Our Short Breaks foster parents care for the same children on an on-going basis.  Our approach is a holistic one, where foster parents are well known to the children and enjoy coming for ‘sleepovers’ and our foster parents work closely with the children’s family, to provide consistency and to fully understand a child’s needs.