How long does a fostering assessment take?

The length of a fostering assessment is determined by the number of checks, conversations, home visits and preparation activities needed to understand your household properly. It is not simply an administrative form-filling exercise: the assessment must consider whether fostering is suitable for your circumstances and how you could meet the needs of children in care.

Although every assessment is different, the main stages normally include:

• Initial information and eligibility checks: Your fostering service will discuss your circumstances, explain the requirements and confirm that you can begin the process. This may include considering your accommodation, household, employment, health and reasons for wanting to foster.
• Formal checks and references: Background checks, identity checks, medical information, personal references and other relevant enquiries help build a complete picture of your suitability. Information may be requested from every adult in the household, not just the person applying.
• Training and preparation: Pre-approval training introduces subjects such as safeguarding, attachment, trauma, behaviour, safer caring and working with birth families. It also gives you an opportunity to test your understanding of fostering and ask practical questions.
• Assessment interviews and home visits: Your assessing social worker will usually meet you at home and speak with you about your childhood, relationships, support network, parenting or caring experience, strengths and areas for development. If you are applying as a couple, each person will need to contribute openly to the assessment.
• Assessment report and panel consideration: The information gathered is brought together in a written report. You should have the opportunity to check the factual accuracy of the report before it is considered by the fostering panel, which makes a recommendation about approval.
• Agency decision: The fostering service’s decision-maker considers the assessment and panel recommendation before confirming whether approval is granted and identifying the terms of approval.

The length of each stage depends on how quickly information can be gathered and whether further clarification is needed. For example, an assessment may require additional enquiries where someone has lived overseas, where household circumstances are changing, or where medical or safeguarding information needs to be explored in more detail. This does not automatically mean that an application will be unsuccessful; it means the service must reach a properly informed decision.

Your household’s availability also affects the practical progress of the assessment. Interviews need to be arranged with the relevant adults, references need to be returned, and visits need to allow enough time for meaningful discussion. If you work shifts, have caring responsibilities or need to involve members of your support network, these arrangements can be included in the assessment plan.

A thorough assessment should give you time to consider whether fostering is right for you, rather than treating approval as the only objective. You may discuss the types of placements that could fit your household, the support you would need, how fostering could affect family life and how you would manage everyday responsibilities alongside caring for a child.

If circumstances change during the assessment, tell your assessing social worker promptly. Changes such as moving home, a new relationship, changes in employment, a serious health issue or a significant change in the household may need to be considered before the assessment can be completed. Keeping information up to date helps prevent avoidable uncertainty later in the process.

Your fostering service should explain the stages, identify the information it needs and let you know what happens next after each major step. A clear assessment plan can show which tasks are outstanding, who is responsible for completing them and when your progress will be reviewed. Our West Midlands team provides guidance throughout the assessment, helping applicants understand what is required and prepare for the discussions, training and checks involved.