Choosing the right fostering agency for your needs is important to ensure that you have the best fostering journey possible. One of the crucial things to consider about your chosen fostering agency is what support they can offer you. Fostering can be incredibly rewarding, but it doesn’t come without its challenges.
Sometimes, the best decision you can make for you and the children in your care is to transfer to a local fostering agency. There are lots of benefits to local agencies that you might not be aware of if you’re new to fostering, or that you might not currently benefit from if you’re with a larger agency.
We’re going to take a closer look at these benefits below, as well as talk you through how to transfer to a new fostering agency if you would like a more personalised approach to fostering.
What are the benefits of a local fostering agency?
We believe that a family-focused approach is key to a successful fostering journey. As a smaller provider, we know there are benefits that we can offer to both new and experienced foster parents alike.
Some of the benefits of a local fostering agency such as Clifford House include:
- Better support tailored to every member of your family
- Continuity and stability for you as a foster parent and the children in your care
- Opportunities to meet other likeminded foster parents
- Generous fostering allowances and other benefits
- Access to expert training that’s customised to your needs
- Careful matching
Support when you need it most
At Clifford House, we’re proud to take a community-focused approach. Because we’re a smaller, close-knit team, we know all our families and children personally and go the extra mile to really get to know you as an individual.
We offer our families wrap-around support, so that you have the help you need when you need it most. This includes social workers, educational specialists, health workers, and schools all working together to deliver the best outcomes for children in our care.
Some of the support you’ll receive from our team includes:
- 24/7 helpline so you’ve got the support you need when you need it most
- Professional support from therapists and educational specialists
- A dedicated supervising social worker who’ll be there whenever you need them
- A mentoring scheme for our foster parents to connect you with other carers
- Support groups for foster children and birth children in your home
Continuity and stability
With our small team of dedicated professionals, you can rest assured that you’ll get the continuity and stability that you’ll need to do an excellent job.
The welfare and specific needs of each individual child always come first with Clifford House, and our personalised approach means that we’ll know all about you, the children in your care, and their history. You’ll never feel like you’re speaking to a stranger.
Opportunities to meet other foster parents
We give our foster parents, such as yourself, opportunities to meet up and get to know each other through coffee mornings, lunches, and family events. This is a great way to meet like-minded individuals and build friendships, so you always have someone to talk to or ask for advice.
We host a range of free family events throughout the year for our foster families and their children. This includes summer barbecues, sports days, bowling nights, a Christmas party, and an annual trip to the pantomime.
Generous fostering allowances
Although money will never be a foster parent’s main motivation for fostering, we understand that generous fostering payments are a hugely important way of recognising the hard work that our foster parents do every day. At Clifford House, we offer each of our foster parents generous rates so that you’ve got the support you need to give your foster children the best lives possible.
Our payment thresholds increase over time, too, to reflect your experience and wisdom. If you’re an experienced foster parent who’s thinking of transferring agency, it’s likely that you’ll be entitled to our higher payment rates when you transfer to us.
Other financial benefits include a birthday fund so that you can help your foster child to celebrate their birthday, a celebration fund for your foster child to put towards a religious holiday of their choice, and access to The Exchange, our rewards programme.
Training that’s tailored to your needs and interests
We take a trauma-informed approach when it comes to the training that we offer, and have developed a bespoke programme that you won’t find anywhere else. This has been designed in-house by our knowledgeable team and has been designed to empower you and give you the tools you need to build strong relationships with your foster children.
There’s also a range of specialist and refresher courses that you can take across a variety of topics.
Careful matching
As we’re a smaller team, we get to know our foster parents really well. Our personable, close-knit family approach ensures that we can provide an excellent matching service so that you and your foster child are a great fit for each other. We’ll take your preferences around age and the types of fostering you’ve chosen into account to make sure this is the right match for everyone involved.
Transferring fostering agency is easier than you think
Making the choice to transfer to a local fostering agency is a big decision to make, but one that is worth considering.
Our process is streamlined for experienced foster parents like you, and you’ll receive comprehensive support every step of the way. We’ll work closely with you and your existing agency or local authority throughout the transfer process. We’ll use our collective knowledge and experience to guide you while ensuring that everyone involved, including you, any children who may currently be in your care and your own children, are all fully supported.
There are seven easy steps to follow if you’re thinking about transferring, which is similar to the initial fostering assessment process that you’ll have already experienced.
- Enquiry
Your first step to transferring to a smaller agency like Clifford House will be to get in contact with our team, who can talk you through the process in more detail.
- First home visit
Next, a member of our friendly team will arrange a home visit or a video call to get to know you better. They’ll talk you through what support we can offer you through the transfer process, and you can ask any questions you might have.
- Application
If you decide that a smaller team is the right fit for you and your family, our staff can help you to complete the application to transfer to us. You’ll also need to make your current agency aware of your intention to transfer. This won’t be an official resignation, but it will ensure that everyone involved in the care of your foster child knows what’s going on.
- Assessment
Now comes the assessment stage of the transfer process, which sees our staff at Clifford House assess your application. We’ll complete a number of home visits and compile information about you in a Form F document to present to a panel. This could take several weeks.
- Panel
Once the assessment has been completed, your application will be considered by a panel. This’ll be similar to the fostering panel you’ll have already experienced when you first became a foster parent, but will be less nerve wracking. They’ll assess your Form F document and decide if your request to transfer is approved.
- The Agency Decision Maker
The penultimate stage of transferring sees the Agency Decision Maker take one last look at your application. Once they’ve given their approval, you can finally transfer to us.
- Transfer to your local fostering agency
Finally, when you’ve received approval from the panel and the Agency Decision Maker, it’ll be time to hand in your formal resignation to you current fostering agency. You’ll then be registered with Clifford House.
Want to know more about fostering?
Have you got what it takes to become a foster parent? Or perhaps you just want to know more about fostering? Whether you’re at the start of your fostering journey or are looking to transfer to a local fostering agency like Clifford House, our friendly team of advisors are here to help.
Simply fill out an enquiry form on our website or give us a call on 0800 369 8515 to speak to one of our friendly advisors who can answer any questions you may have. You can also find out more about the process by downloading our transfer guide.