The City of Edinburgh Council considers looking after other people's children as one of the most important jobs anyone can do, so we take the task of assessing and preparing carers very seriously.
The whole assessment and preparation process is about finding safe, caring people to look after Edinburgh's children.
When you apply to become a carer you will participate in the assessment and preparation process. This is a two way process. Firstly it helps people who are interested in looking after children establish whether or not it really is right for them and secondly it enables us to assess applicants.
Because we need to ensure people are well prepared and be reassured as much as possible that people have the necessary skills, the assessment process takes time! On average it takes approximately 6-8 months for the process to be completed.
Below is a summary of the assessment and preparation process:
In order to look after children you need to show us that you:
You will be invited to attend a preparation group as part of the assessment and preparation process. The preparation groups consist of six or seven sessions that examine various aspects of looking after children. The groups are usually made up of eight to sixteen applicants and are facilitated by social workers and experienced foster carers.
DVDs, presentations, written materials and exercises are all provided at the sessions to enable you to learn more about the roles, responsibilities and skills involved in looking after children. It helps you understand whether looking after children is right for you and also allows us to begin our assessment on your skills and training needs.
The six sessions, each approximately two hours long, are usually held one evening a week, over six weeks (sometimes two sessions are held on a Saturday to reduce the time from six weeks to four weeks).
Following the preparation group, you are allocated a social worker to undertake a comprehensive assessment of your current skills, training needs and family circumstances.
The home study usually takes six to ten visits and a number of exercises are undertaken during this stage to help us gather evidence of skills in the four main areas of competence.
If you are applying to look after children in your home then all the members of your household are involved in the assessment process. It is at this stage that Medical, Local Authority and Police checks are initiated.
At the end of the whole assessment period the assessing social worker writes a final report incorporating all the information gathered from the assessment and preparation process. Some of the information is placed within the four main areas of competence and this report is shared with you. The report (complete with recommendation for consideration of approval and the number and ages of children you should look after) is then signed by you, the assessing social worker and his/her line-manager. It is then passed on to the members of the Fostering Panel.
The Fostering Panel is made up of three or four people who are experienced in working with children who are looked after. You, along with your assessing social worker, attend the Panel and a discussion is held on your suitability to look after children based on the evidence presented within the report.
The Panel then recommends whether or not you should be approved to look after children and if so the age range, gender, number and scheme of care. This recommendation is then forwarded to a Service Manager in the Council who makes the final decision. You receive a copy of this in writing.