Introduction

If you’re thinking about fostering, it can be confusing working out the best way forward for you and the children you will be caring for. As well as the obvious choice of choosing your local authority you may come across independent fostering agencies whilst you search for information.

So, why should you choose East Riding over an agency? Here are the six main reasons:

Not for profit

As a local authority, we operate on a not-for-profit basis, with the best interests and needs of the children we care for and our foster carers at the heart of everything we do.

This means that all our financial resources are dedicated to improving our services. Independent agencies are businesses which exist to provide a return to their shareholders.

East Riding foster carers are prioritised

When a child comes into the care of the authority, we aim to place them with one of our local authority foster carers as a priority, meaning that as a foster carer, you will spend little time with an empty bed.

If there isn’t a suitable placement available with our local authority carers, we will put out a search for an agency carer or residential placement; often this is out of the area.

We help keep children close to home

Staying local can mean the world to foster children. When you foster with the local authority, children can remain within their community, close to friends they’ve made, family members they stay in touch with, communities they recognise and often stay at their current school.

This can give children some stability, perhaps with a teacher they like and trust. For you as a foster carer, this also means school, family time and meetings will all happen local to you.

Competitive pay and rewards

We recognise that financial support plays an important role in your decision to become a foster carer. That's why we offer generous payments and allowances to help you provide the best care possible.

You'll receive a regular payment for each child in your care, along with a range of additional benefits. These include a setting-up allowance, birthday and holiday payments, and free membership to East Riding Leisure centres.

As part of your support package, you'll also receive a Max Card, and you can apply for a Blue Light Card, both offering access to a huge range of discounts and special offers.

Read more about fostering payments

Expertise under one roof

Whether you foster with an agency or local authority, every child in foster care has their own local authority social worker.

When you foster with the local authority, the child’s social worker, fostering social workers and foster carers are all part of the same organisation.

Flexibility

Fostering with East Riding is flexible. You can start your fostering journey by offering weekend visits, school holidays or short breaks. You might do lots of different types of fostering with us. Fostering can grow with your family and if you have children of your own, we will consider what works best when matching a child with you.

Testimonies

Hear what some of our foster carers have to say about fostering with the East Riding:

“Staying local is important especially for older ones. Sometimes just a little bit of distance is a good thing. But their parents and siblings are still very important to them. They like to know they are not too far from home.”

Helen, local authority foster carer, East Riding

“The fostering team have worked with a lot of the children and knew their stories. One social worker had worked with them since they were little. She was their social worker for five years, and that consistency makes such a difference.”

Paul, local authority foster carer, East Riding

“It’s not just about social workers supporting you, it’s about other foster carers supporting you. Because you make friends within the community, other people with different experiences can advise you how to work with particular children because they’ve met similar children before.”

Ann, local authority foster carer, East Riding