Emergency Foster Care

How long does a child stay in emergency foster care?

Emergency fostering is very temporary foster care, with the child usually staying for a night or two until it’s safe for them to return home or a long-term plan has been put in place. Social workers will assess the child’s situation whilst they’re in your care and potentially try to locate family members who can look after the child instead. Due to the efforts we make to achieve the very best possible match between children and families, emergency placements can develop into long-term foster placements.

What does an emergency foster parent do?

Children that suddenly come into foster care due to severe disruption in their life are often shaken up, distraught and confused. It’s your main role as an emergency foster parent to provide safety, comfort and a calm environment during a very stressful time. Depending on when the child comes into your care and how long they’re with you, you may need to ensure they go to school and attend any meetings with the birth parents.

How emergency foster care placement works

Due to the nature of why children need an emergency foster home, it usually takes place at night or during weekends, but it can happen at any moment and when it does, it’s all hands on deck. We have an outstanding support package and out-of-hours team to find children a suitable home with little to no warning. 

• We work with our emergency foster families and regular foster families to match the child to the right home that will meet all their needs.
• We also provide the local authority with a ‘Foster Family Vacancy Hub’ so they can quickly see which of our foster families are approved for emergency fostering. This helps to narrow down and speed up the search.
• Even in an emergency, each child is given a profile of their foster family as well as a picture of their bedroom. Knowing who they are going to stay with helps them to feel more relaxed and comfortable, making it easier for them to settle in.