How long does it take to become an emergency foster carer?
There is no fixed timescale for becoming an emergency foster carer, as it depends on completing the required checks, training and fostering assessment. Your fostering agency will explain each stage and confirm when you are approved to accept emergency placements.
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Becoming an emergency foster carer normally follows the same approval process as other types of fostering. Being willing to accept emergency placements does not remove the need for a full assessment or allow someone to foster before they have been approved. The overall length of the process depends on your circumstances, the information needed for your assessment and how quickly each stage can be completed.
The usual stages are:
- Initial enquiry and discussion: You discuss your household, experience, availability, home environment and the types of placements you may be able to offer. This is also an opportunity to ask how emergency fostering works and whether it is suitable for your family.
- Application: If you decide to continue, you complete an application and provide information about your identity, household, employment, health, relationships and previous experience.
- Checks and references: The fostering agency arranges the required safeguarding and background checks, health information and personal or professional references. The agency may need to clarify information or request additional documents, which can affect the timescale.
- Preparation training: You complete preparation training covering subjects such as safeguarding, trauma, behaviour, safer caring, the impact of fostering on your household and working with other professionals. Emergency carers also need to understand how to respond when a child arrives with limited information and may be unsettled or distressed.
- Fostering assessment: A social worker assesses your suitability, motivation, skills, support network, household circumstances and ability to provide a safe and stable home. They will usually visit your home and speak with household members. The assessment considers whether you can manage the particular demands of emergency placements, including uncertainty about a child’s needs and the possibility of changes to arrangements.
- Approval decision: The completed assessment is considered through the agency’s approval process. If you are approved, the agency records the terms of your approval, including the age range, number of children and placement types that are suitable for you.
Some parts of the process can happen alongside one another, while others depend on earlier information being completed. Delays may arise if a reference is difficult to obtain, a check needs further investigation, medical information is incomplete, household circumstances change or additional training is recommended. A home may also need preparation before approval, such as suitable sleeping arrangements, storage for medicines and cleaning products, and an agreed safer-care plan.
Emergency fostering requires more than being able to accept a placement at short notice. You need to be approved for the relevant type of care and ready to work within the child’s plan. The agency will consider whether your skills, household, space and support network are appropriate for each referral. Approval does not mean that every emergency placement will be suitable for you, and you should only accept placements that match your approval and the information available.
When you speak to a fostering agency, ask it to explain the steps in its own assessment process, what information you need to provide, which training is required and how it will keep you informed about progress. It is also sensible to discuss any factors that could affect your application early, including previous convictions, health conditions, overseas residence, pets, employment commitments or other adults living in the household. Raising these matters at the start allows the agency to give proper guidance rather than creating avoidable delays later.
You cannot accept an emergency placement until the fostering agency and relevant decision-makers have completed the approval process. Once approved, you will receive ongoing support and guidance to help you prepare for referrals and manage the practical responsibilities of caring for a child in an emergency situation.
When an agency gives an estimated timescale, check which milestone it refers to. “Starting the process” may mean making an initial enquiry, submitting a formal application, beginning the assessment or receiving approval. These are different points, so an estimate is only useful when you know its starting point and what must be completed by the end.
Before proceeding, ask the agency:
- When does its stated timescale begin?
- Which stages are included in the estimate?
- What information or documents should be ready before the assessment starts?
- How will any change in your household circumstances affect the expected date?
This gives you a clearer basis for planning than comparing your application with someone else’s. Each assessment follows the applicant’s circumstances and the agency’s required process, so the date of approval should be confirmed directly by the agency once its decision has been made.
Discuss your route into emergency fostering
Speak to our fostering team to discuss whether emergency fostering could suit your household and ask for guidance on the assessment route. This can help you understand the next steps before deciding whether to apply.