What checks are involved in becoming a therapeutic foster carer?

The checks for becoming a therapeutic foster carer form part of a wider suitability assessment. They are used to establish whether you and your household can provide a safe, stable and appropriately supportive home for a child who may have experienced trauma, neglect or disrupted relationships. Therapeutic fostering does not usually involve a completely separate type of statutory check, but the assessment will look closely at your ability to offer consistent, trauma-informed care and work with a professional support network.

Criminal record and safeguarding checks

The fostering service will request the relevant enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks and may need to check other adults in your household. The purpose is to identify information that could affect a child’s safety, rather than to assume that any previous mistake automatically prevents someone from fostering. You should disclose relevant information fully and honestly, including matters that may not appear in a current certificate. The fostering service will consider the nature, seriousness and timing of any offence, alongside the wider assessment.

Other safeguarding enquiries may also be needed, such as checks with local authorities where you have lived or worked, and checks relating to previous involvement with children’s services. If you have lived outside the UK, the service may ask for overseas police or equivalent records where these can be obtained. Requirements can vary according to your circumstances, so provide details of previous addresses, employment and time spent abroad as early as possible.

Health and wellbeing assessment

A fostering medical assessment helps the fostering service understand whether your physical and emotional health is compatible with the demands of caring for children. A medical professional may ask about your medical history, current treatment, mobility, sleep, stress and any condition that could affect daily care. The assessment is not intended to require perfect health. It considers how your circumstances may affect your ability to provide reliable care, respond to challenging situations and sustain a placement.

Therapeutic fostering can involve helping a child manage distress, emotional regulation and difficult behaviour. You may therefore be asked to reflect on how you manage pressure, what support you use and how you would maintain your own wellbeing. You should be open about relevant health information so that the fostering service can identify appropriate support and make a balanced assessment.

Checks on your home and household

The home assessment considers whether the accommodation is suitable for fostering and whether it can provide a private, secure and stable environment. Areas considered may include sleeping arrangements, fire safety, household routines, cleanliness, pets, smoking, transport and any risks in or around the property. The assessment is not simply about the size or appearance of your home; it focuses on whether it is appropriate for the child’s needs and can support safe day-to-day care.

Everyone living in the household has a part to play in the assessment. Adults may need to complete safeguarding checks, while children and other household members may be spoken to in an age-appropriate way about how fostering could affect them. The service will consider relationships within the household, privacy, boundaries, visitors and how everyone would respond to a child who needs additional reassurance or supervision.

References and background information

Personal and professional referees are normally asked about your character, reliability, relationships and ability to care for children. A reference may also explore how you handle responsibility, conflict and stressful circumstances. The fostering service might seek further information if a reference is incomplete or raises an issue that needs clarification.

You will usually be asked for documents that confirm your identity, address and personal circumstances. Information about previous relationships, children, employment and significant changes in your household may be relevant. These questions help the assessing social worker understand your experience and identify any issues that should be discussed before approval.

Financial and practical suitability

The assessment includes consideration of your financial circumstances and practical arrangements. This is to check that you can manage household commitments and provide care without depending solely on fostering payments to meet essential costs. You may be asked for information about income, regular expenditure, housing and outstanding commitments. The assessment also considers work, childcare, transport and the availability of other adults who may be part of your support network.

Interviews and the fostering assessment

The assessing social worker will discuss your motivation, relationships, childhood experiences, parenting or caring experience, understanding of safeguarding and views about working with birth families and professionals. For therapeutic fostering, conversations are likely to examine your ability to remain calm, understand behaviour as communication, accept guidance and review your approach when a strategy is not working.

You will need to show that you can follow agreed plans, keep appropriate boundaries, share information safely and contribute to meetings or reviews. The assessment may involve several conversations and requests for further evidence. This is an opportunity to explain your circumstances accurately, raise concerns and identify any training or support you may need.

What happens after the checks?

Information from the checks and assessment is brought together in a written report. The fostering panel may consider the report and make a recommendation about approval, including the type of fostering and any terms that should apply. A decision-maker then makes the formal approval decision. If information is unclear or concerns arise, the service may request additional evidence, arrange further assessments or discuss what would need to be addressed before a decision can be made.

Being asked for further information does not necessarily mean that you will be ruled out. However, withholding information can undermine the assessment, so it is better to discuss difficulties at the earliest opportunity. The most useful preparation is to gather requested documents, provide complete address and employment histories, speak openly about your health and household, and consider how you would meet the needs of a child who requires therapeutic care.