There are a number of different types of foster carer that we are looking for:

Emergency and short-term care
Long term fostering
Shared Care and Shared Care plus
Weekend care
Caring for disabled children

Emergency and short-term care

Emergency foster carers look after children who are brought into care through the out of hours Emergency Standby service.

Emergency foster carers look after children at very short notice and can be called in the evenings, during the night or at weekends. Due to the unplanned emergency nature of this service, emergency foster carers must be flexible and adaptable.

Short-term foster carers look after children of all ages who can no longer stay with their own families. Children may stay in foster care for only a few days but some children may remain for as long as two years depending on their own individual circumstances.

Long-term fostering

When a child is placed with a family on a long-term fostering basis it is anticipated that the child will grow up with their long-term foster carers and will remain there until the time is right to move onto independence.

Shared Care and Shared Care Plus

Shared Care is a family based respite scheme for children with learning disabilities, or who are physically disabled, and usually live with their own families.

Shared Carers offer care in their own home for around one weekend a month and possibly for a longer holiday period during the year.

Shared Care Plus is a family based respite scheme for children who are significantly disabled. Shared Carers are linked to four children in rotation, offering each child around 42 days of care a year, usually at the weekends and during school holidays.

Weekend Care

Weekend Carers look after children and young people who live in residential homes or schools. Care is needed for children for regular, short periods usually at weekends and holidays.

Sometimes the experience of weekend care encourages young people to think that they could live with a foster family.  At the very least it offers a break from residential life and gives them a chance to have a different experience.

Caring for Disabled Children

Carers are needed to provide a range of services for disabled children. Carers can provide short-term care or permanent care through either adoption or fostering disabled children.

Although caring for disabled children requires an extra commitment, many of the tasks are the same as required for carers of all children and young people.

Back to top

Contact us

It’s easy to take the first step in becoming an adoptive parent or foster carer, it’s easy to contact us and take the next step.

The team at Families for Children will be more than happy to answer your questions.

Phone 0845 270 0609 between 8.45 and 4.45pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am and 3.55pm on a Friday.

E-mail: families.children@sw.glasgow.gov.uk

Families for Children
PO BOX 7535
Glasgow City Council
G42 2AZ