Skip to main content

LGBT foster carers

Someone once told me that if just 1% of LGBT+ adults in the UK fostered then there would be no national shortage of foster carers.

Unfortunately the situation is bleak - there are far more kids in care than foster carers available.

You may come under the LGBT+ umbrella and would like to do something to help children but haven't considered fostering yet. Or you may have looked into it, tentatively, but not taken the plunge yet. You may be worried, apprehensive or even scared.

Well.. For starters your application will not be treated negatively due to your gender identity or sexual orientation. It's illegal for one.

As it happens I to come under the LGBT+ spectrum and my social worker couldn't have given a monkeys. In a good way. It was a complete non-issue. In fact during my assessment those many moons ago it was a positive - because I'd be able to identify and help LGBT+ youth in care.

Maybe you're worried about how any child who comes into your care will react to you? There is no need. Kids can work these things out. Even the little ones seem to know. You don't want to closet yourself in your own home. Most kids really don't give a monkeys too.

But just in case with me for older kids who're mature enough to understand, my social worker asks them what they would think if they stayed with someone like me. One hundred percent of the kids asked haven't cared one bit. Not bothered. Actually its us as adults who seem more bothered.

What is important is your ability to care for a child, not whom you date or how you identify. Yes there may be the odd kid who would kick up a fuss but they shouldn't be placed with you, and if an issue arose, speak to your social worker. Sometimes it can be as simple as kids repeating words they've heard without realising they're being offensive, and once they know, the issue can be solved.

If you start as a carer and get a partner whilst looking after children, then you will need to speak to your social worker about that, and your partner be assessed (if you're getting serious) but that's exactly the same for all foster carers as you're introducing a new adult to a child in care.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that YES you can foster if you're LGBT+. There is no barrier to you, and your experiences can be a huge plus. Don't be shy about being you. Pick up that phone, and on your personal info form do tick that box that best represents who you are, because who you are is important.

Lots of love (the newly outed :) ) Bristol Fostering.

NB Bristol Fostering is a personal blog and not affiliated with any fostering agency. The author just happens to be a foster carer in Bristol, UK

We do recommend Bristol Council though as they're fab. Bristol Council fostering enquiry form




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The value of possessions

What if your only possession was a teddy, a book or a photo? How would you feel if you had to leave the only home you've ever known with a stranger, and then be taken to another stranger's home, to live with a group of people who are all brand new and perhaps scary to you. Not all, but a good proportion of kids enter care with just a small amount of belongings. This could be because they've entered care as an emergency and there wasn't the opportunity to grab much, or it could simply be because the child didn't have many clothes or toys in the first place, so even though their placement is planned, they have limited possessions to call their own. Imagine how you would feel if you were 10 years old, brought to a stranger's home where you could be living for just a day to up to many years. You're not sure what is happening to you, it's all new, but what you do know is that despite the negative situation you were in, you still love mummy and daddy and y
Post a Comment
Read more

The nearly kids

Whilst in an ideal world no child would ever need to come into care, the fact is they do. There are kids all over Britain that have been neglected or abused. Who have seen things even adults should never witness, or who live with a parent unable to look after them for health reasons. In Bristol at any one time there are around 700 children in care out of the 85,000 young people aged 16 or under in the city. When you’re a foster carer unless your social worker knows you’re unavailable, generally if you have a spare room you will be asked to take on a child. You can say no of course. Perhaps the child doesn’t fit your current situation, or they want you to look after the child longer than you know you can. There are many that you will say yes to, especially if you’re a respite or emergency carer, and, oddly, many of these children will never make it to your home and yet you wonder about them. You’ve said ‘yes’ to the question ‘can you take a child tonight?’ You’ve read their pa
Post a Comment
Read more

Week in the life of a respite foster carer 18

Hello! For those of you unfamiliar, I offer respite foster care and cover emergencies. Respite is where you give either another foster carer or a child's family a break by having their child for usually 1-7 nights, quite often just one or two nights. Emergency placements are where Social Services phone you and ask you to take a child that night for at least one night. I've done this a few times and least notice I've had is 15mins and most 7hrs. Some of these kids have stayed just one night; longest was 21 nights. I've looked after 19 kids to date. Monday - no kids (but nearly kids) I am marked as available to take up to two kids today as my rooms are currently free. Early in the day I get phoned about two kids. Not related; completely seperate. A teen girl and an asylum seeking child. I ask for the referrals and these are duly sent. I have a good read, then read them again. The girl troubles me. There are quite a lot of difficult behaviours, but t
Post a Comment
Read more