What is an independent fostering agency?
The definition of an independent fostering agency is a private business that is established to supply a secure and loving home for young people and children.
While agencies work with the local authority, their independence sometimes lets them provide foster children and young people with placements where at times the local authority cannot.
For example, local governments can struggle to find a child a placement with an approved carer in their employ due to a shortage of capable foster carers. However, sometimes, foster children have especially complicated needs that the local authority’s carers aren’t equipped for – but an independent fostering agency can provide the specialist training required to its foster carers.
How does an independent fostering agency operate?
While working under their own volition, independent fostering agencies also operate in a partnership with local authorities, with the shared aim of ensuring children and young people are placed in fostering families that are a good fit.
The introduction of independent fostering agencies arrived initially to support local government, because of the growing number of young people and children requiring care.
It’s important to note that while they share aims and work together, independent fostering agencies and local authorities operate differently from each other. An independent agency has its own unique processes and approaches to fostering that are designed to provide an experience with more of a “family feeling” than those employed by the Government.
What is the difference between a local authority and an independent fostering agency?
The definition of a local authority is a government body that oversees several local services. These include both fostering and social care. However, independent fostering agencies are private organisations working with local authorities to locate foster homes for young people and children in need of a safe and nurturing home.
Local authorities hold the legal responsibility for children in their care’s welfare and this extends to those who live in foster homes. While social care and fostering fall in the purview of local authorities, so too do many other local services like schools, housing, planning, transport and roads.
In terms of fostering, local authorities initially place children and young people with in-house carers and focus on specialist training and support for foster care professionals. Their efforts are focused to the local area they oversee, and their funding comes from local council budgets and central government.
In contrast, independent fostering agencies are private organisations. They focus solely on recruiting foster carers, training and assessing them and providing them with ongoing support on their fostering journey. Agencies connect with local authorities to help provide children and young people in need with appropriate foster homes.
Many independent fostering agencies also specialise in finding placement for children that have challenging behaviour or specific needs.
Unlike local authorities, independent agencies cover a far wider area, allowing them to find placements for foster children in a greater number of areas. For instance, a northwest fostering agency will work with foster families in areas such as Manchester, Merseyside, Stockport, Chester, Preston and Liverpool. Independent fostering agencies receive funding from the local authority for each placement they provide, and typically offer foster carers higher allowances than those who work for the local government.
Why choose an independent fostering agency?
When selecting how to provide foster care to a child or young person in the UK, there are many tangible benefits to deciding to work with an independent foster agency.
While local authorities are under considerable strain, private foster agencies often have far more resources and time they can allocate in support of the foster carers who work with them.
At an independent fostering agency, foster carers are likelier to get a more competitive fostering allowance that exceeds the standard payment recommended by the Government.
However, there are further advantages than just higher allowances. Fostering through an independent foster agency, carers are also likelier to receive more extensive fostering training and targeted skills development sessions that give them the abilities they will require to look after the child placed with them. Levels of support are also exceptional at independent agencies, with round the clock help available and a nurturing fostering network to advise whenever needed.
At Beacon Fostering, we are dedicated to the foster carers we work with. We have a “family first” ethos that is led by a focus on the welfare of the children and young people and those who look after them. We pride ourselves on finding placements that fit and ensure our foster families are well taken care of with competitive pay rates, high-quality training and support.
To start your fostering journey or join us from another agency, get in touch today.