Fostering in the Armed Forces

We understand that the Navy, Army and RAF will support individuals to make a request to move to larger accommodation to foster. The way to do this will vary between Services. We encourage you to speak to your line manager and Welfare Officer about this. We can offer a letter of support with this request.

The MOD are supportive of single people becoming foster carers and it is possible to apply for more appropriate Service Families Accommodation (SFA).

We can support you to make an encroachment. This will be via the Health and Additional Needs specialist. They will advise on how to make the necessary adaptions to your accommodation, in line with the Health and Safety requirements for fostering.

There is a variety of additional support offered across the different sectors of the MOD. The specifics will depend on your exact circumstances. Our team will be able to share more details with you upon request, as part of your enquiry.

If you are in a relationship and living together you would be considered as joint foster carers, with one person being the main carer.

We would need to meet both prospective foster carers in person during the assessment, however some of these sessions can be individually held or completed virtually.

This varies depending on the person’s circumstances as for some individuals there may be more areas to cover than others.

Our Skills to Foster Part One Training runs virtually and can be accessed during a weekday or evening. Skills to Foster Part Two is held face to face in our offices in Swanwick, Southampton for 1 full day and a half day on weekdays or weekends.

Post approval training is mostly delivered virtually and can be accessed from home or work, at different times of the day.

We have been assured that the Armed Forces are supportive of applications to foster and, often they will agree time off to attend training and assessment visits, wherever possible, or negotiate your time away around the timescales of the assessment, panel, or a child arriving in placement.

If you would like to find out more and your partner/spouse is currently away we could offer an Introductory Visit as information gathering and then, if it is agreed we could proceed to an assessment, we would wait for the partner/spouse to be home to commence this.

If you live on base in Single Living Accommodation, it will not be possible to foster. It is possible to apply to move to Service Families Accommodation to enable you to foster, whether you are single, married, or in a long-term relationship.

It is worth remembering that registering as a foster carer may entitle you to suitable alternative accommodation, although this may be classed as a self-request move so you as an individual will need to cover the cost of removals etc.

If you were moving within County and were offered on base accommodation, perhaps months ahead, then you could state before moving that this is not appropriate due to fostering, and you should be offered alternative off base accommodation with no personal cost.

We are able to request an ‘Escorted Pass’ to visit you on Base whereby you come to meet the Social Worker and grant them access. We could also complete the necessary security checks to request permission to visit on a regular basis.

Fostering is not classed as a second job.

Foster carers are a highly skilled workforce who work with the council on a self-employed basis. All foster carers receive an allowance for each child they foster, depending on the age of the child. This basic allowance is to cover food, clothing, pocket money and a contribution towards household bills and other expenses associated with day to day living.

Hampshire County Council also offers skills fees payments to eligible foster carers on the appropriate scheme pathways. These fees are paid in recognition of the skills of the carer, rather than as a contribution towards the costs of looking after a child.

Foster carers are classed as self-employed and will need to complete a tax return each year. However, many will either pay very little or no tax at all on their fostering income thanks to qualifying care relief.

Your fostering approval will be with Hampshire County Council, and it is not portable, however foster carers are free to transfer at any time to other fostering providers, whether this be another Local Authority or a private/independent Fostering Agency (known as IFAs). The length of the transfer process and updated assessment will vary based on each fostering provider. Some offer a fast-track process, others complete an update assessment which will take approximately 4 months for completion.

If you were to move house, to outside of the Hampshire County Council area, it is likely that you would be de-registered. It is possible for approval to be put on hold, but this is generally only for a matter of months due to the requirements of the fostering regulations. If you only moved over a county border, it may be possible for you to continue to foster Hampshire children and remain approved with us. If de-registered, upon return to the county, a re-assessment would be required.

It is important that children are still able to have Family Time with their birth family and remain within their familiar local network. Their social worker would still need to see them regularly, so it is unlikely that you would be able to move with a Hampshire child. In this event, it is likely that a new placement would be arranged before you moved.

It may be possible to negotiate a delay to a person being away and this could be discussed with your line manager and Welfare Officer. We would be happy to support you with this and attend a meeting or liaise with your colleagues if this would be helpful.

There is no minimum length of time you would need to reside in Hampshire before starting the Fostering Application Process. The process usually takes between 4 to 6 months so it’s a good idea to get started as soon as you can.

Post approval you would need to expect to be settled in Hampshire for at least two years. We understand that things change quickly when working in the Armed Forces so communication would be key.

Children in care receive many of the same financial and other benefits as children with service status, due to their status as looked after children. Therefore, access to additional funding is already in place. We have been told that many educational establishments have groups or clubs for service families, and some will include our young people if they are long-term placements.

As with the rest of your non-serving family, the foster child would access NHS services.

Post approval, only the established main carer would be expected to complete the skills pathway. This would mean that it is possible to progress skills levels, even if one carer was deployed. The majority of post approval training is available virtually. On average prospective foster carers work their way towards Level 3 within 18 months – 2 years of approval if they wish to, provided they are and willing to offer the age range and availability as per the criteria.

We do accept foster carers who do not drive, or have limited access to a car, however it may mean a longer wait for a placement to be matched as the Local Authority are not able to offer school transport, unless in exceptional circumstances, as agreed by the child’s social worker.

All prospective foster carers have a fostering medical and Hampshire County Council’s medical advisor provides their view on whether there are any contraindications for fostering, any support needs or areas to explore further within your assessment to identify any potential impact or matching considerations.