Issues with post foster care arrangements
Despite widespread acceptance that post- foster care arrangements are in young people’s best interests, there is still a range of cultural, financial and logistical obstacles in the way of delivering this policy.
One of the key concerns is funding. Since the schemes started, all key stakeholders have highlighted that there is not enough funding to deliver them. Unlike for foster care, there are no minimum post- foster care allowances and many services reduce the allowance given to foster carers once a young person moves into a post- foster care arrangement, expecting the young person to cover the missing costs by claiming housing benefits. The loss of income from fostering fees can also be a major barrier to offering a post- foster care arrangement.
Our recent State of the Nations 2024 survey found that three quarters of foster carers are worse off as a result of offering post foster care arrangements.
The current situation places significant emotional pressure on foster carers to agree to a post- foster care arrangement with a young person with whom they have a strong familial relationship, even if they can’t afford to lose a significant proportion of their fees and allowances.
Other issues include continued approval as a foster carer. Fostering services are unsure about recommending continued ‘suitability to foster’ for carers who do not have space to offer fostering placements in addition to post- foster care arrangements. Foster carers are often left in a position of having to seek re-approval when the young person leaves the post- foster care arrangement, a long and costly process.