When it comes to foster care, every child’s situation is unique and requires tailored support. Some children may only need temporary care for a few nights, while others require a stable and permanent family environment for weeks, months, or even years. In Ireland, we offer a variety of foster placement types to ensure that the needs of each child are met with utmost care and flexibility.
Here are types of Foster Care in Ireland
1. Emergency Placements:
There are instances when a child or young person requires immediate accommodation due to unforeseen circumstances.
These emergency placements are designed to provide temporary care and support, typically lasting for a few nights. We understand the importance of offering a safe haven during these critical moments.
2. Short-Term Placements:
Short-term placements cater to children who require care for a varying duration, ranging from days to weeks or even months. These placements serve various purposes, such as completing assessments or providing temporary support during transitional periods.
Rest assured, our short-term placements receive the same high-quality support services as our standard placements.
3. Long-Term Placements:
For children who require a permanent foster family, long-term placements are the ideal option. These placements involve providing care for a young person until they can live independently at the age of 18.
These children often cannot return to their birth families but may maintain regular contact with them. Long-term placements provide a stable and loving environment for these children to grow and thrive.
4. Respite Placements:
Respite placements are intended to give a break to permanent foster carers by temporarily placing children with another foster family. These placements are regular and typically last for a weekend, one week, or a maximum of a fortnight.
They play a crucial role in supporting both the children and their permanent carers, ensuring that everyone involved receives the support they need.
5. Parent and Child Placements:
Are you passionate about helping young people in State care who are pregnant or have a baby? Parent and child placements involve foster carers providing support, guidance, and a safe environment for young mothers and/or fathers to develop their parenting skills.
Foster carers offering this type of placement receive additional training to ensure they can provide the necessary support and care.
6. Parenting Assessments:
Experienced foster carers who have undergone specialized training can take part in parenting assessments. These assessments involve highly structured and closely monitored placements, where foster carers work as part of a professional team to formally assess and provide a detailed report on a young person’s parenting abilities.
This type of placement plays a vital role in helping professionals make informed decisions about the child’s future.
Foster carers receive weekly allowances
Looking at these types of Foster Care in Ireland, you need to know how much do foster carers get paid per child.
Additional payments are any payments made to foster carers that go beyond the standard rate for the child’s fostering allowance. Children and young people may require additional support beyond the standardised fostering allowance. Every application for an extra payment must be accompanied with supporting documentation that demonstrates the need.
When a foster child’s financial needs are more serious, enhanced allowances can be granted to foster carers. Children aged between 0-18 may have a maximum weekly allowance of double. This is if the child requires significant care that goes beyond the needs of the other foster children.
Children with severe special needs may be eligible. They will need a high degree of personal care and supervision. These children may be eligible for an enhanced allowance to assist foster carers in caring for them.