How long does it take to complete a foster care application?

Completing a foster care application is only one part of the overall approval process. The application form may be completed relatively quickly, but becoming an approved foster carer also involves background checks, references, medical information, training, interviews and a detailed assessment. The full process therefore takes longer than completing the form itself, and the timescale is different for every applicant.

Your fostering team will usually explain the expected sequence of events at the beginning and identify any information needed from you. The main stages are:

• Initial discussion: You can ask questions about fostering, your household and the types of placements you may be able to offer. This helps establish whether fostering is suitable for your circumstances before you submit an application.
• Application form: The form gathers information about your identity, household, employment, health, relationships, experience and reasons for wanting to foster. Giving complete and accurate answers helps prevent avoidable delays later.
• Checks and references: The assessment normally includes criminal record checks, local authority checks, employment or other relevant checks, personal references and a medical assessment. Information may also be required about other adults living in, or regularly visiting, your home.
• Preparation and training: Pre-approval training helps you understand safeguarding, attachment, trauma, behaviour, safe care and working with professionals. It also gives you an opportunity to consider how fostering could affect your family and daily routines.
• Home visits and assessment: A assessing social worker will meet with you and relevant members of your household, discuss your experiences and explore your ability to meet the needs of children in care. This information is brought together in an assessment report.
• Fostering panel and decision: The completed assessment is considered through the fostering approval process. A recommendation is made about your suitability, the decision-maker considers the evidence, and you are told the outcome.

The parts most likely to affect the timescale are the availability of referees, the speed of external checks, the return of medical information, the amount of detail needed in the assessment and whether further discussions are needed. Arranging visits around work, caring responsibilities or other household commitments can also affect the progress of the assessment.

You can help keep your application moving by returning forms promptly, providing requested documents, telling your referees what information they may be asked to provide, attending training and being open about any changes in your circumstances. It is important not to leave out information that may seem difficult or unrelated; the assessment is intended to establish what support and preparation you may need, not simply to produce a yes-or-no answer.

If information is missing or a concern arises, this does not automatically mean that your application will end. Your fostering team may need to ask further questions, seek additional evidence or agree extra support and training. In some cases, the assessment may be paused while information is clarified. Your assessing social worker should explain what is needed and how it affects the next stage.

The process can also take longer if your household circumstances change, such as moving home, changing employment, beginning or ending a relationship, experiencing a significant health change or adding another person to the household. Tell your fostering team about any such change so that the assessment remains accurate and safe.

Before applying, ask which stages are included in the organisation’s stated timescale and when you will receive an individual assessment plan. Become a Foster Family can explain the paperwork, checks, preparation training and assessment requirements, and provide guidance throughout the application process.