How We Carefully Find the Right Foster Family for Each Child
A common question people ask when they are thinking about fostering is:
“How do you decide what family a child lives with?”or “How do you know if a foster family is right for the child?”
It’s a really important question. Here at The Foster Care Charity, decisions about where a child will live are never rushed and they are never simply about finding an available space. Our priority is always to find a home where a child can feel safe, cared for and supported to thrive…
…and where foster carers feel confident they can truly help🌟
In fostering, professionals often use the term “matching.” This simply means the careful process of considering a child’s needs, experiences, interests and background, and identifying a foster family who can best support them.
Behind every child that goes to live with a foster family is a dedicated team supporting you. One key member of that team is our Placement Co-ordinator, who plays an important role in this matching process.
💛 What does a Placement Co-ordinator do in fostering?
When a Local Authority identifies that a child or a young person needs a foster home, they send us a pack of information about that child – usually this is called the referral information. This is the starting point for the matching process.
Our Placement Co-ordinator reviews the information and begins thinking about which foster carers we have available who might be able to offer the right support.
The information we receive can include:
- A child’s age and background
- Their personality and interests
- Cultural, religious or language needs
- Any health or education considerations
- Details about the type of home environment that might help them feel comfortable and secure
Every tiny detail matters, because fostering works best when children are placed with carers and families who understand and can support their needs.
💛 How we match children with foster carers
For our team, matching is always a collaborative and thoughtful process.
Once a possible family has been identified, the Placement Co-ordinator works closely with our foster carer’s Supervising Social Worker to explore whether the placement could work well for everyone involved.
Just as importantly, our foster carers are always part of the decision.
You’ll have the opportunity to:
- Learn about the child and their needs
- Ask questions and talk things through
- Consider whether you feel able to provide the support they need
Only when everyone feels positive and confident about the situation do we move forward with the placement discussion with the Local Authority.
This approach helps ensure that when a child moves into a foster home, they are welcomed by carers who feel prepared, supported and ready to help them settle.
💛Why careful matching matters in fostering
Taking time with the matching process can make a real difference to how a child settles and grows in foster care.
Sometimes it’s about recognising the things that bring a child joy and confidence.
For example, one young person had a strong interest in horses. When we were considering potential foster families, she was able to move to a home where the carers owned horses and had experience looking after them.
This meant she could spend time around the animals she loved, learn how to help care for them and even begin learning to ride.
Being able to continue exploring something she cared about helped her build confidence, develop new skills and feel a real sense of belonging in her new home.
Moments like this show how thoughtful matching can help children feel valued, understood and supported to thrive.
💛A whole team supporting our foster carers
The Placement Co-ordinator is just one part of the support network available to foster carers here at The Foster Care Charity.
When you foster with us, you’re supported by a team that includes:
- Your Supervising Social Worker
- Our Education Specialist
- the Finance team
- And other experienced professionals who are here to help
Together, we work behind the scenes to make sure our foster carers feel supported and that children receive the care they deserve.
Because when carers feel supported, they can focus on what matters most: providing the love, care and stability that helps children thrive.
🌐Hear what our foster carers have to say about fostering and being part of The Foster Care Charity
Thinking about being a foster carer? You won't be doing it alone!💛
If you’re considering fostering, it’s reassuring to know that you won’t be doing it alone.
We believe fostering works best when carers are supported every step of the way — from your very first enquiry to welcoming a child into your home.
And careful matching is one of the many ways we help both foster carers and young people build positive, supportive relationships that last.
🌐You can find out more on our fostering with us pages and our FAQs page
💛Some questions you might have about placement and matching
Q. How do you decide which foster family a child goes to?
A. There is a careful process that we go through to match children with our foster carers – we consider the child’s needs, personality, background, and the environment that will help them to thrive.
Here at The Foster Care Charity, our Placement Co-ordinator will review referral information from the Local Authority and work with our Supervising Social Workers and foster carers as well as the Local Authority team to ensure the decision is right for everyone involved.
Q. Do foster carers get any support when a child is placed with them?
A. Yes! Foster carers receive ongoing support from our dedicated team that includes their own Supervising Social Worker, our Education Specialist, as well as all the people on our business support and finance team.
Everyone is there to help carers so they can provide the best possible care for the child – and to ensure that the foster carers feel confident and supported at all times.
Q. Can foster carers choose whether to accept a child?
A. Absolutely. At The Foster Care Charity, our foster carers are always involved in the decision.
We share a lot of information about the child and they have the opportunity to ask questions and consider whether they feel able to meet the child’s needs before agreeing to the child coming to live with them.
Q. Why is “matching” important in fostering?
A. We know that good matching helps children settle more easily and feel safe and understood in their foster home.
It also helps ensure foster carers can feel prepared and supported to meet the child’s needs. This leads to more stable and positive fostering experiences for all.
Q. What type of support do foster carers receive?
A. The support that we provide to our foster carers includes regular supervision with an experience social worker trained in therapeutic parenting techniques. Also the opportunity for carers to learn and train on specialist techniques skills like this themselves.
Schools/learning advice and guidance from our education specialist – including support at school meetings. Our finance team and business support team are there to help with keeping up to date with all the paperwork, claiming expenses and ensuring carers receive all allowances and payments they need to look after the children in their care.
Can You Foster?
So, if you’ve been thinking about fostering we’d love to talk through your options to help you explore whether this could work for you and your family.
📞 Call us today to learn more – UK FreePhone 0800 0856 538
📍 Book an appointment with our team via our at Contact Us page
Could you open your home and heart to help local children? Let us help you today to find out if you can be a foster parent. ❤️
