Emergency Foster Care

Have you ever considered becoming a Foster Carer but worry about long-term commitment? Emergency foster care means that you look after children on a short-term basis, while a suitable, long-term foster family is found.

What is Emergency Foster Care?

Emergency foster care provides a safe environment for children and young people when unexpected situations come up, and they cannot be cared for at home.

Emergency foster care is a temporary option for children and young people who need to be cared for very urgently, especially when there is a high risk of harm at home. Children and young people who come to be in an emergency foster family have often experienced trauma from the situation and may need extra support. An Emergency Foster Carer’s role is to safeguard children and young people’s wellbeing, with vital support from Five Rivers.

teenager in emergency foster care with notebook

Why Would a Child Need Emergency Foster Care?

Emergency foster care may be required for many reasons. The situation could involve the sudden death of parents and/or guardians. Alternatively, a complex home situation could emerge that requires that children be moved to a safe place on short notice. As a Foster Carer, you can change lives by supporting young people when they need it the most. This is no small task, so our Carers are provided with a high level of support.

What Support is There for Emergency Foster Carers?

It takes a village to support a child, and navigating the needs of a child or young person who has experienced trauma can be challenging. Even though emergency foster care is often very short-term, we provide a high level of specialist support, a professional fee, and an allowance to cover any costs. We provide round-the-clock support with our 24 hour helpline to highly qualified staff. Plus, we offer therapeutic support, when needed, to the children living with you.

emergency foster carer supporting child outside

How Long Does a Child stay in Emergency Foster Care?

Children stay with an emergency foster family for a relatively short time, days or months at the most, until a suitable longer-term home can be found.

In the first 1-2 days that a child is in emergency foster care, reviews and assessments take place so that suitable and best-fit Foster Carers can be considered for a longer-term solution. However, this period may be slightly longer or shorter because how young people come into emergency foster care varies greatly. If you live in Cornwall or the Gloucester area, we are currently looking for specialist 28-day emergency Foster Carers, you can find out more here.

two children in emergency foster care sat on sofa

Emergency Foster Care Payments

Emergency Foster Care payments are made for the time a Foster Carer has a child or young person placed with them. This fee is based on the individual child’s needs. Remember that income from emergency fostering is supplemented by government tax relief schemes.

Visit our pay and allowances page for further information.

Give us a Call to Find Out More

Do you think you have the qualities needed to become an emergency Foster Carer and impact children and young people’s lives for the better?

Get in touch