Can I foster if I live alone?

Living alone does not prevent you from becoming a foster carer. The assessment focuses on whether you can provide consistent care, manage the practical demands of fostering and build a reliable support network around you.

Fostering as a single adult can work well, but the assessment will consider how you would manage responsibilities that another adult in the household might otherwise share. This can include school runs, appointments, contact arrangements, meetings, record keeping and responding to changes in a child’s needs.

Your support network matters. You will need people you can rely on for practical and emotional support. This might include relatives, friends or other trusted adults. The fostering agency will discuss who could help you, what role they might play and whether they would need checks or approval before providing support or caring for a child.

Being able to foster is not simply a question of whether you live alone. Your circumstances will be considered as a whole, including:

• your reasons for wanting to foster and your understanding of the role;
• your experience of caring for or working with children and young people;
• your capacity to respond calmly and consistently to behaviour or additional needs;
• your home environment and the space available for a child;
• your physical and emotional health, considered through the required assessments;
• your employment, routine and ability to attend to fostering responsibilities; and
• the strength and suitability of your wider support network.

Living alone may give you greater control over your household routine, but it also means that planning is particularly important. Before applying, think about who could help if you were unwell, had an unavoidable commitment or needed support after a difficult incident. You should also consider how fostering would fit with your existing relationships, work, social life and responsibilities.

The assessment process gives you an opportunity to explore these points in detail. It normally involves discussions with a social worker, preparation training, checks, references, health information and an assessment of your home. You will be expected to be open about your circumstances and to show how you would meet the needs of a child placed with you. Any adults who regularly visit, support you or may have a significant role in a child’s care may also need to be considered during the assessment.

Training helps prospective foster carers understand safeguarding, attachment, trauma, behaviour, identity and the impact of separation. Once approved, you receive ongoing guidance, supervision and training. Foster carers may also receive financial allowances and other support connected with caring for a child; the precise arrangements depend on the fostering provider and the child’s needs.

A child’s age, experiences and support needs will be considered when identifying a suitable placement. You should be able to say honestly what you can manage and where you would need help. Approval is not based on living alone in isolation, but on the complete picture of your ability to offer safe, reliable and appropriate care.

Become a Foster Family can explain the assessment requirements and help you consider how your household arrangements and support network would work in practice before you decide whether to apply.