TACT Fostercare - fostering support, child care and outreach for local

Foster Care from TACT - The Adolescent and Childrens Trust offers fostering support, child care and outreach to local authorities in London and throughout the UKTACT - The Adolescent & Children's Trust, Fostering in London,Looking after children. How to become a foster carer,Caring for Children,A Fostering Agency within UK Fostering organisations. Advice on fostering babies,fostering teenagers,working with children,child care,outreach and supportFostering,The Adolescent & Children's Trust,Care,Children,Fostering London,Looking after children, How to become a foster carer,Caring for Children,Fostering Agency,Fostering organisations,fostering babies, fostering teenagers,working with children,child care,outreach,support,TACT HOW TO BECOME A FOSTER CARER The process is rigorous. TACT only recruits people for foster care whose professionalism matches the high standards of TACT's own qualified staff. These standards also reflect those demanded by local authorities who pay for the high quality service which is so essential when working with vulnerable children. However, TACT also ensures that foster carers are given training which is appropriate to their role. Carers are given a personal Link Worker who will visit them regularly. They also have access to support from the TACT team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!Potential foster carers first need to complete an application form and return it to TACT. Their application will be acknowledged in writing. The form will be examined very carefully by our professional staff. They will use the form to build up a picture of the foster carers life, work experience, accommodation and their reasons fostering. The more information applicants can give, the better. Applicants are notified immediately a decision has been made about their suitability. If an application is to be taken further, the following process will begin:Applicants will receive a letter from The Adolescent & Children's Trust Regional Manager letting them know that the first stage of their application has been successful. An Assessing Social Worker will telephone the applicants to arrange a convenient date to visit for a preliminary discussion. The result of this preliminary interview will be given to the applicants in writing. If the outcome is positive, a formal assessment process will begin. At this stage applicants will be given additional written information about the process of caring for children TACT will also begin a series of checks as listed on the Foster Care Consent Form. These checks involve contacting medical practitioners, the Police, local authorities, health authorities, the NSPCC, the probation service, the Department of Health and Fostering organisations. Although the list may seem daunting, most applicants understand that they are vital.
The formal assessment process will usually require about six meetings with the Assessing Social Worker in the foster carers own home. The Social Worker will also need to meet any other people who normally live in the house. This includes children as well as other adults. The timing of this series of visits will be agreed between the foster carers and their Assessing Social Worker.If all the outside checks prove to be satisfactory and the Assessing Social Worker makes a positive recommendation, the applicants will confirm by signing the formal assessment document known as an F Form. The final stage of the assessment process can then begin.
This is approval by TACT's Foster Care Panel. The panel includes members from outside the TACT organsization in order to safeguard an objective and unbiased outcome. Applicants will have been given prior details of the panel.
Once successful applicants have been approved by the Foster Care Panel they will be required to sign a formal agreement between themselves and TACT. This agreement details the foster carers' obligations both to TACT and to any local authority who may need looking after children. It also details TACT's obligations and responsibilities to the foster carers'. The new foster carers are then added to TACT's approved register.A personally assigned Link Worker will discuss arrangements for induction training with the new foster carers. The Link Worker and TACT's Training Manager will work with the new carers to draw up an individual professional development plan. Induction training will take place as soon as possible after their approval by TACT. This will also provide foster carers with an early opportunity to visit our premises, meet the staff and have contact with other foster carers for those carer's who have not already done so.If you are interested in fostering please contact head Office

All members of the TACT team - Trustees/Managers/ Foster Carers/Admin Workers/ Independent Professionals/Support Workers - share a common set of principles and values. These guide every aspect of the organisation's work and ensure that TACT gives a positive and consistent response to the specific needs of every child placed with foster carers.

TACT believes that:

All children have the right to a permanent family in which they are able to grow and develop as unique individuals. Where it is not possible for them to grow up in their birth family, TACT believes that a new, appropriate and caring alternative should be found.

Every child coming into care should benefit from a specially designed programme which helps them to overcome whatever levels of material, physical and emotional deprivations s/he has previously experienced. TACT also firmly believes that foster carers, social workers and other involved individuals should all contribute to and work together to design and implement these programmes

All children who need a foster family have the right to be placed where their needs can be met. These needs include race, culture, religion as well as level of care. This principle should occupy a central role in all programme planning.

All children placed in TACT's care have the right to be involved in planning their own futures. Most children in care are very resilient. Given sufficient nurture and support, they are able to cope with the damage that has occurred in their lives and develop successfully into mature individuals.

All children who have to move on, either to return to their natural families or to another, more appropriate placement, should take with them memories of a positive experience of their time in TACT's care - a time which will have helped them to take another step towards mature adulthood.

Individuals with parental responsibility have the right to be involved in making decisions about their children's future whether or not those children live at home or in a place designated by a Local Authority.

Proper use must be made of the theory and considerable body of professional knowledge which is available relating to childcare and child development. This material should be used appropriately in programme planning.

Every individual, involved in TACT's childcare programmes should benefit from appropriate training and development opportunities. This ensures that every child placed with TACT receives the best and most enlightened care possible. This process of training and development should be ongoing and at all levels. TACT has a responsibility to provide training opportunities. Individuals involved with TACT, in whatever capacity, are responsible for taking advantage of these opportunities. This is a contractual obligation for both parties.

All people involved with TACT either organisationally or as a young person in need of placement, will receive the best treatment possible, irrespective of gender, age, disability, marital status, sexuality, race, ethnicity or religion.

TACT believes that:

TOP

Click here to print this page