What information helps professionals find the right foster family?

The most useful information is accurate, current and specific enough to show whether a proposed placement can work safely in everyday life. Professionals usually bring together the child’s records, the foster family’s assessment and approval information, the views of people who know the child, and a practical plan for managing care, contact and risk. The aim is not to find a family that appears suitable on paper, but to understand how the placement is likely to function.

Information about the child should be detailed rather than limited to a diagnosis or age. A referral should explain the child’s lived experience, how they communicate, what helps them feel secure and how they may respond to change. It should distinguish confirmed information from professional opinion or details that still need to be checked. Relevant records may include:

• the child’s understanding of their circumstances and what they want from a foster placement;
• important relationships, including contact arrangements and relationships between siblings;
• known triggers, patterns of distress and strategies that have helped previously;
• health appointments, medication, therapeutic recommendations and practical care requirements;
• school arrangements, transport needs and any support required to maintain education;
• behaviours that could present a safeguarding concern, together with known warning signs and agreed responses; and
• legal information, the permanence plan and any restrictions affecting daily care or contact.

The child’s own voice is an essential part of the information. A professional should record what the child says about routines, food, pets, bedrooms, school, culture, faith, hobbies and relationships where these matters are relevant. Younger children or children with communication difficulties may express their views through behaviour, play, communication aids or observations from people who know them well. Their views may not determine the decision on their own, but they can identify practical issues that a written referral would otherwise miss.

Information about the foster family should show how their approval translates into care. This includes the terms of approval, relevant experience, completed training, household relationships and the findings of the fostering assessment. Professionals may also need to understand how the carers respond to challenging behaviour, work with birth families, maintain boundaries, follow safer-care arrangements and share information with the wider team. A family’s previous experience should be considered alongside its relevance to the particular child, rather than treated as a guarantee that every placement will be suitable.

It is also important to examine the circumstances of the whole household. The assessment may need to consider the effect of a placement on existing children, other foster children, partners, pets and regular visitors. Questions about sleeping arrangements, privacy, supervision, transport and household routines can reveal whether the proposed care plan is realistic. These details are particularly important where a child needs close supervision, frequent appointments, supported contact or a carefully managed approach to other children.

Risk information must be specific and usable. A label such as “challenging behaviour” does not tell a foster family what they need to do. Professionals should explain what the behaviour looks like, when it is more likely to occur, who may be affected, what has reduced the risk and what action is required if concerns arise. This allows the fostering team to consider safer-care arrangements, supervision, training, support and the suitability of the household before a decision is made.

A sound matching process also considers practical compatibility. Professionals should compare the care plan with the family’s actual circumstances, including:

• the location of school, health services, family contact and other important places;
• the foster family’s ability to manage transport and attend meetings or appointments;
• the likely impact of changes to routines, holidays and household commitments;
• the arrangements needed for introductions and the first days of the placement; and
• the support, specialist advice or equipment that must be in place before or soon after the child arrives.

Information should be tested through discussion, not simply exchanged as paperwork. The child’s social worker, fostering social worker, carers and other relevant professionals should identify uncertainties, ask follow-up questions and agree what must be clarified before placement. Where appropriate, the child and family should be involved in introductions so that expectations can be discussed honestly. Any decision should be recorded with the reasons for the match, the known risks, the safeguards and the arrangements for reviewing how it is working.

Records must be shared lawfully and only with people who need the information to safeguard and care for the child. They should be updated when circumstances change, particularly after new health information, changes in behaviour, altered contact arrangements or a significant change within the foster household. A well-informed matching decision therefore depends on both the quality of the original information and the willingness of professionals to revisit it as they learn more.

Become a Foster Family can help prospective foster carers understand the information professionals consider when assessing whether a placement is appropriate. Local teams support fostering enquiries across the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Dudley, Sandwell, Herefordshire, Telford, Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Stoke, Solihull, Coventry and Gloucestershire.