You’re going to change a child’s life. I don’t think you realise how important fostering is until you do it yourself.” – Foster carer Julie Herman.
At Middlesbrough Council, we passionately believe that every child should have a safe, secure, and stable environment in which to grow and achieve their dreams. When you choose to foster with us you can make a real difference to the lives of children where you live. We always look to place children with our own foster carers first, helping to ensure that our carers’ and our children’s needs are met.
Every child and their family situation is different, and there are many types of fostering to meet their needs. You can find out about the different types of fostering below:
Short term fostering
Some of our children need foster care for a short period of time; this could be anything from one night to many months, and is unique to each child’s situation.
Long term fostering
When a child isn’t able to return to live with their family, it’s often in their best interests to live with a foster carer in their home long term, as they may not want to be adopted, or they may want to keep some positive contact with their family.
Respite fostering
Sometimes families are under stress, and as a local authority, we’ll try to support them to enable them to stay together long term. Respite care for brief, regular periods of time supports a child and can help prevent their family breaking down.
Short break care for children with disabilities
Families with disabled children can sometimes welcome a regular break to support them in caring for a child with additional physical and emotional needs.
Parent and child fostering
Supporting an expectant parent or a parent with a child can be very rewarding. Working with our team of social workers you can help, advise, and give practical and emotional support to a young family, helping them to remain together.
Supported Lodgings
Supported Lodgings helps young adults aged 16 to 25 who have left care (and are eligible for Care Leaving Service) to gain independence. The young person lives with an individual or family that can provide a supportive home during this time which could be from a few months up to a few years.
Futures for Families foster carers
Futures for Families is a fostering service which provides a rapid response to children and families who need support to prevent family breakdown.
For many different reasons some children are at risk of being taken away from home, their family and the future they desire. If you’re an experienced foster carer or have experience working with young people, this could be the role for you.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children fostering
Middlesbrough is located close to the coast and to the port of Teesport. Sometimes unaccompanied children arrive into the port. Often older children, they may be quite independent but still need support to settle here. Due to the ages of the children, they are often able to move quickly into full independent living so placements are often short term.
