Children are looked after in foster care for many reasons including:

Serious illness of a parent, including mental illness.
Death of main carer or parent.
Abuse or neglect by parents or other family members.
Problems with relationships, including challenging behaviour.

Anyone can apply to be a specialist foster carer as long as you have what it takes to look after children who are not your own. You should be over 21, you can be single, married or in a partnership. Some carers have their own children, others don't. It doesn't matter if you are in or out of paid work at the moment, own or rent a house.

People of all ethnic origins are welcomed.

If you have children it is a good idea to have an age gap between them and a foster child, one of our staff will discuss this with you further if you decided to proceed.

To protect fostered children from harm there are some offences that prevent people from fostering. As part of your assessment you will be asked to tell us about any past criminal convictions, most will not stop you from becoming a foster carer, however some might and a member of staff can advise you about this when you contact us.

After you apply we will make an appointment to meet you at your home to discuss fostering in more detail and answer your questions. We decide if you meet the criteria to become a Specialist Foster Carer and invite you to attend a series of training sessions. At the same time we will pay a number of visits to your home to get to know you, your family and circumstances well.

We are required by law to make checks with Disclosure Scotland, Health, Education and Social Services and take up peronal references. We will also pay for you to have a medical examination. An independent panel of experts - social workers, existing foster carers and people who were fostered themselves consider all the information and decide whether to recomend you to become a Specialist Foster Carer.