Families for Children with Disabilities
Could you care for a child with disabilities?
Carers wanted!
Could you care for a child with disabilities?
If you could provide a loving, caring environment for a child with disabilities on a short term or long term basis, we would love to hear from you.
We are seeking carers who are able to look after a child with a disability. Foster carers and adoptive families are ordinary people who provide something extraordinary to the child they care for.
Although challenging, the rewards of helping a child can last a lifetime. If you have space in your home and in your family, then you could make a real contribution. Don't rule yourself out without speaking to us first!
We are looking for carers in the following areas:
Home from Home
This is a scheme that provides children with disabilities and their families with regular short breaks by linking them with another family. Children and families are matched on an individual basis with foster carers.
Some carers provide care for one weekend a month; some children may spend as much time with their carers as they do with their families on a ‘shared care’ arrangement.
Home from Home carers receive additional specialist training to prepare them for looking after children with differing needs.
Fostering
Short term or temporary fostering is the most mainstream type of foster care. Placements can vary from one night to several months, depending on the circumstances and legal situation. Short term fostering occurs when a child needs to be removed from their home for various reasons. Children may be able to return home when difficulties have been resolved.
Short break, respite or shared care are all terms used to describe part time care for children. Part time care may be needed to help families in difficulty, providing a break for parents and children. These breaks are often over weekends or holidays.
Short break foster carers may have an ongoing link with a family as a way of providing support on a long-term basis. This helps foster carers get to know the family of the child they are caring for.
Adoption
Adoption is the legal process by which children, who cannot be brought up by their own parents, become a full, permanent member of a new family. When you adopt a child you become their legal parent(s) with the same rights and responsibilities as if they were born to you.
The process of becoming an adopter takes time – at least six months, sometimes longer than a year. This gives prospective adopters time to learn about what adoption involves and make the changes in their lives.
Interested?
If you would like to help a child with disabilities, call Gateshead Council’s Adoption and Fostering Service on:
24hour phone service: 0191 433 8333
Email: adoptionandfostering@gateshead.gov.uk|