Can I change fostering agencies during my assessment?

Changing fostering agencies during an assessment is possible, but it normally means that the agency you move to must take responsibility for reviewing and completing the assessment. It may use suitable information already gathered, but it does not have to accept the previous agency’s recommendations or treat the assessment as complete.

The practical effect depends on how far your assessment has progressed. If you have only had initial discussions or completed some preparation training, the new agency may be able to continue with relatively little duplication. If interviews, statutory checks, medical information or references are already under way, the new agency will need to check that the information is current, sufficiently detailed and relevant to its own assessment and approval procedures.

Before you move, establish these points in writing:

• Whether your current application will be closed as a withdrawal or whether another formal process applies.
• Which documents and reports have been completed, and which are still outstanding.
• Whether your consent is needed before assessment records can be shared with the new agency.
• Which checks, references and medical information may need to be repeated or updated.
• Whether any preparation training already completed will be recognised.
• Whether the new agency expects you to complete additional training, interviews or home visits.
• How the change could affect the expected route to fostering panel.

Your assessment information contains personal and sometimes sensitive details about your household, health, relationships, finances and background. Ask how the agencies will handle, transfer and retain these records. Sharing should take place through an appropriate data-protection process, with a clear record of what you have agreed to disclose. You can also ask for copies of documents that you supplied yourself, although the agency may need to distinguish between your own information and confidential material created for its professional assessment.

The new agency should explain whether it can rely on existing evidence or needs to carry out its own enquiries. This is particularly important for statutory checks, local authority information, personal references, employment details and health assessments. A check completed for one purpose may not be sufficiently current for another, and a new agency may have different requirements for assessing your household and the type of placement you hope to offer.

You should also ask how the change affects people who have already contributed to your assessment. For example, referees may need to confirm that they are still willing to provide information, and household members may need to take part in further discussions. If children live in your household, the new agency may need to revisit how fostering could affect them and how their views have been considered.

If you have already reached the stage where a fostering panel date is being arranged, get specific advice before withdrawing your application. The panel process, the assessing agency’s report and the recommendation are connected to the agency responsible for the assessment. Moving at this point may mean that the new agency reviews the full evidence and prepares its own report rather than simply taking over the existing panel arrangements.

There may also be a practical reason for changing agencies, such as a difference in the support offered, the types of placements considered, the training approach or the way concerns have been handled. Identify the specific issue and ask the prospective agency how it would address it. A move should be based on clear information rather than an assumption that another agency will automatically approve you or reach a different conclusion.

If you are unhappy with how your assessment has been conducted, use the current agency’s complaints procedure as well as considering a move. Keep copies of important correspondence, assessment documents and decisions, and make a dated note of what has been agreed. If your concern involves safeguarding, honesty in the assessment or a professional decision, changing agencies does not remove the need for that matter to be disclosed and considered.

A sensible order is to compare the proposed assessment plan with the work already completed, confirm the record-sharing arrangements, understand any likely duplication and only then decide whether to end the existing application. Ask both agencies to explain the next steps in plain language, including who is responsible for each outstanding task and how your application will proceed after the transfer.

For advice about changing to Become A Foster Family, our fostering team can discuss your circumstances and explain how an assessment review would be approached. We support prospective foster carers across Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and the wider West Midlands through our offices in Droitwich and Stoke, with staff located throughout the region.