Fostering Process

Individuals who put themselves forward as foster parents must undergo a formal assessment by a social worker and obtain approval from a Placement Committee before they can be accepted and approved. This process takes a minimum of six months to complete and is usually carried out before children are placed with prospective foster parents. Ms Brown and her partner were concerned that they might not pass the fostering assessment and claimed that they had been reassured repeatedly by the children's social worker (but not by the social worker who undertook their assessment) that they would not fail their assessment. Due to a shortage of social work staff the couple did not begin their fostering assessment until July 2001, and the children's toys and clothes were moved into their new house.