Fostering

shortbread

Hi,

we have just been approved for fostering and awaiting the go ahead from the top dog in Social Services.

However my partner has been looking for a job for the last year and has been struggling. He is getting stressed as its the first time hes been out of work in over 23 years..Obviously we need some financial stability whilst fostering and he has just been offered a job as a pub manager. Now because he isn't working he is eager to become employed again and this is something he really fancies doing...however it is a live in job and we would be required to leave our house to live there.....

Ive contacted our Social worker and she hasn't got back to us so as you can imagine its quite stressful as my partner needs to make a decision.

Does anyone know if taking this job would mean we could not foster ?? Obviously I am aware of what living in a pub could bring....but just wondered if it really is a reason to be excluded??

Really really need some advice...SOON

LadyMorticia

shortbread wrote: »

Hi,

we have just been approved for fostering and awaiting the go ahead from the top dog in Social Services.

However my partner has been looking for a job for the last year and has been struggling. He is getting stressed as its the first time hes been out of work in over 23 years..Obviously we need some financial stability whilst fostering and he has just been offered a job as a pub manager. Now because he isn't working he is eager to become employed again and this is something he really fancies doing...however it is a live in job and we would be required to leave our house to live there.....

Ive contacted our Social worker and she hasn't got back to us so as you can imagine its quite stressful as my partner needs to make a decision.

Does anyone know if taking this job would mean we could not foster ?? Obviously I am aware of what living in a pub could bring....but just wondered if it really is a reason to be excluded??

Really really need some advice...SOON

My foster mum's sister was also a foster carer and her and her husband were pub landlords and there wasn't any problem with them fostering.

It might not be the same in all areas (that was near Manchester) but just from my experience, the SS were okay with it.

x

whitewing

I don't know about the criteria nowadays so can't help with that respect. My main concern would be the temptation that a pub would bring to troubled children. When my parents fostered one of the children was stealing money. If that happened at the pub, your husband could potentially be out of a job. Is there any way that you could work it that your husband has the job but you stay in the house, and still see each other a lot?

shortbread

Lady Morticia

Really appreciate your reply....We live in Leeds area and are hoping that this wont affect our application

shortbread

Hi Whitewing, appreciate your reply,

I see what you are saying as yes its a pub and there may well be temptations but isnt there temptations everywhere? I figured that a child could be placed long term with us as thats what we have been approved for and perhaps the fact we are in a pub would have a bearing on the child placed with us... No unfortunately I would have to move in with him as I would prob do some part time work there to help out as this is part of the parcel and Im allowed up to 20 hours a week employment on Level 3 fostering.

Alikay

Checks on your home environment is a fairly big part of the fostering approval process so I imagine you'd actuallly have to be "in situ" prior to your application going to panel as the safety assessment would need to be done first. If you're going to be the main carer and maybe only work in the pub at lunchtime when children are at school it shouldn't be a problem, but obviously a lot depends on the age and number of chldren you'll be approved for, accomodation and location etc.

Maybe it'd be easier to put the application on hold for a while until you have a better idea how/if the pub job works out. I know a couple who took a year out of the approval process due to family health issues - they didn't have to start from scratch again, merely picked up where they left off when their situation was more settled.

whitewing

I think it sounds quite hopeful from the other reply you got. There would possibly be more temptation in a pub, but I guess you just handle that appropriately. Being in a stable environment would be the most important thing, with caring foster parents. Good luck to you both and your new family.

puddy

i know that both agencies (one private one LA) that I assess for would want approval put on hold until a sort of semi reassessment is done taking into account your new accommodation in physical and financial terms, but also looking at risk factors for the children in your care but also the people that are your customers and what impact if any that may have on children you foster. if he gets this job is he likely to be asked to move to another pub at short notice at some point? what would that mean for children's schools, health, local authority jurisdiction.

were you assessed by the LA or did you join an agency?

was there any inkling that your partner would lose his job around this time? was this part of the original assessment analysis?

shortbread

Hi Puddy, really appreciate your reply. We are with LA Leeds Council. The situation ideally would that we would both be managers of the pub, but me assigned to only 20 hours a week . As we would live in then one of us would be around all the time and would be able to supervise any child who would be placed with us.

I fully appreciate the risks involved but feel sad that possibly judgements and exclusions will be made on this especially after all our hard work over the last year, but yes I understand the childs well being is paramount.

The pub is in a small village and has really great surroundings and living accomodation. We would be in this pub and would not be expected to move at the drop of a hat No.

We were both unemployed at the start of our application and had first been assessed as Level 4 and I was going to be main carer but then decided Level 3 would be better for us so then went to panel applying to be level 3. Finding jobs was obviously part of the panel process that was looked at and for us it would be not be a wise financial decision to reject any offer of employment especially as we are not looking at fostering as a financial incentive.

Thank you

whitewing

I'd be interested to know what the different levels are?

I don't know much about the structure of fostering when my parents did it, just that there was a never ending supply of children coming through the door.

shortbread

The levels are about the placement and the difficulties of the child...Ie we wanted to do Long term so one child would stay with us until they were ready to move on at between 16-18. We are hoping for a 12 year old.