Can I apply to more than one fostering agency?

In England, there is an important difference between making enquiries with several fostering agencies and undergoing formal assessments with several at once. You can ask more than one agency for information and discuss your circumstances with each, but you should normally proceed with a formal application to one fostering service only. A person cannot be approved as a foster carer by two fostering services at the same time.

What counts as an enquiry?

An enquiry is an initial conversation or request for information. You may contact several agencies to understand how fostering works and whether your circumstances are likely to meet the basic requirements. At this stage, you can ask questions without committing to an assessment. You might discuss matters such as:

• whether your accommodation and household situation could be suitable;
• the ages or needs of children the agency usually places;
• the checks and references required;
• the expected stages of assessment and approval; and
• what would happen if your circumstances changed during the process.

Making an enquiry does not usually mean that you have started a formal application. Ask each agency to explain when an enquiry becomes an application, as terminology and paperwork can vary.

Why formal applications should not run together

The fostering assessment is a detailed process. It involves gathering information about your identity, health, finances, relationships, household, experience of caring for children and ability to work with professionals. It can also include statutory checks, references, preparation training and an assessment report for a fostering panel.

Running two assessments at the same time can create duplicated checks, conflicting requests for information and uncertainty about which agency is responsible for assessing and supporting you. It may also make it difficult for either agency to form a complete picture of your circumstances. For these reasons, an agency will usually ask whether you have applied elsewhere and may pause or end its assessment if it discovers that another formal assessment is continuing.

Be open about contact with other agencies

Tell an agency if you have already made a formal application, started checks or completed an assessment elsewhere. This is not a reason to avoid asking questions or considering your options. It allows the agency to establish what stage you have reached and decide what information may need to be obtained with your permission.

Do not assume that checks or documents completed for one fostering service can automatically be transferred to another. The new agency may need to verify information, repeat parts of the process or obtain fresh consent because it is responsible for making its own assessment and recommendation.

If you change your mind during assessment

You can decide not to continue with an agency and ask about applying to another. Tell the first agency clearly that you want to withdraw, and ask what will happen to your assessment records, checks and references. You should then give the new agency an accurate account of your previous application, including whether an assessment was completed, withdrawn, deferred or not recommended.

Withdrawing is not necessarily a problem, but the reasons matter. For example, an agency may need to understand whether you changed agency because of location or approach, or whether there were unresolved concerns about your suitability. Providing incomplete information can delay the new assessment and may affect trust between you and the assessing social worker.

If you are already approved

If you are an approved foster carer and want to move to another fostering service, this is a transfer rather than a new simultaneous approval. The agencies will need to follow the relevant transfer process, which can include sharing information and coordinating the end of your existing approval with the new assessment. You should not accept approval from a second fostering service until the appropriate arrangements have been completed.

Ask how any children currently living with you would be affected, what will happen to existing placements and how your support and records will be managed during the move. The welfare and stability of children in placement must remain central to the arrangements.

A sensible way to approach your decision

• Make initial enquiries with more than one fostering service if you need to compare how each works.
• Keep a record of the information and documents each agency requests.
• Ask when its formal application process begins.
• Choose one service before committing to a full assessment.
• Tell the chosen agency about any previous or current application.
• Keep the agency informed if your household, health, employment or relationship circumstances change.

Become a Foster Family can explain the difference between an initial enquiry, a formal application and a transfer, and guide you through the information needed at each stage. Its teams support prospective foster carers across the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Dudley, Sandwell, Herefordshire, Telford, Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Stoke, Solihull, Coventry and Gloucestershire.