What support do emergency infant foster carers receive?

Emergency infant foster carers receive structured support from their fostering service before, during and after a placement. This usually includes a named supervising social worker, guidance on the baby’s immediate care, professional supervision, access to relevant training and help to understand the decisions and records required when a placement begins at short notice.

At the start of an emergency placement, the fostering team will help you establish what is known about the baby and what needs to happen next. This may include guidance on:

• feeding, sleeping, soothing and changing routines;
• medical appointments, prescribed treatment and health assessments;
• safe sleeping arrangements and other safeguarding considerations;
• equipment and clothing needed for the baby;
• transport, introductions and any arrangements with the child’s family;
• who has authority to make particular decisions; and
• the information that must be recorded and passed to the social work team.

Because information can be limited when a baby is placed urgently, support also involves helping you identify what is confirmed, what still needs to be checked and who can provide further information. You should not be expected to make significant decisions about health, contact or the child’s longer-term plan without appropriate direction from the child’s social worker or fostering team.

Your supervising social worker will normally discuss how the placement is progressing through supervision and may help you review the baby’s routines, presentation, development and changing needs. These discussions provide an opportunity to raise concerns, check that agreed arrangements remain suitable and consider whether additional advice or resources are needed. The fostering team can also help you communicate observations clearly to the professionals involved in the child’s care.

Training for infant fostering may cover subjects such as attachment, safeguarding, safe care, trauma, child development, health needs and working with birth families. Further learning may be recommended when the baby’s circumstances create a particular requirement. Training does not replace professional medical advice, so health concerns should be raised with the appropriate health professional and reported through the agreed fostering channels.

Support includes guidance around working with parents and relatives. The team can explain the purpose of contact, the arrangements that apply, how information should be shared and what to do if a contact session causes concern. Foster carers are expected to keep their own observations factual and respectful, without making assumptions about a child’s history or family circumstances.

Emergency placements can involve uncertainty while assessments and planning take place. Foster carers should be given updates that they are entitled to receive and support in understanding the possible next steps, while recognising that confidential information may be restricted. The fostering team can help you prepare for reviews, contribute relevant observations and understand how decisions about the placement are made.

Financial support is normally explained as part of the fostering arrangements. The service should make clear which fostering payments apply, how approved expenses are handled and what evidence or records may be needed. Keep receipts and placement-related records in line with the instructions you are given, particularly where the baby needs specialist items, travel or additional care.

Support does not end when the baby moves on. The fostering team can help you complete records, contribute to the placement review and consider what you have learned from the experience. You should also have an opportunity to discuss the emotional impact of the placement ending and identify any further training or supervision that would be useful before caring for another child.