Your Care Plan will have details of where you will live and who with.
For some people, that decision will be made by the court and you will live with people who can make sure you get everything you need to grow up happy and healthy.
Family
Lots of cared for children and young people live with family members and you will be involved in making these decisions. If you have someone in your family who can provide a safe, warm and loving home then it is likely you will live with that person.
Foster Family
You might live with a foster carer. Foster carers are ordinary people who like to take care of children and young people. They are from all walks of life and have lots of experience of different things. They’re trained to look after children. They have to be assessed and prove they’re suitable and they get reviewed every year.
Once they’re approved, they have regular visits from a supervising social worker, who helps them – and you – to make sure you’re well cared for and deal with any problems.
Foster carers are people who will take care of you and keep you safe in a warm, clean house. They will welcome you into their home and make you feel part of the family as long as you live with them.
A foster family will make sure you:
- are made to feel at home
- have adults who listen to you and spend time with you
- are healthy
- are safe
- have help at school
- get help staying in touch with the people you care about
- get the chance to make new friends and enjoy hobbies and pastimes
- have fun and are happy
- have help staying out of trouble
- have support growing up
Living with a foster family will probably feel strange at first. Different families have different ways of doing things. But while you’re with them they’ll make you feel welcome and treat you as part of their own family. They’ll care about you and want your stay with them to be a happy and helpful one.
Residential Home
In this type of home you’ll be living with a few other children, and there’ll be a team of workers whose job is to look after you. You’ll meet them all and get to know them.
Every children’s home has a manager – the person in charge. They’ll make sure that the staff take good care of you and keep you safe from harm. Everyone there wants to help you to be settled and secure, to develop and learn, and to be healthy and happy. They’ll help you to get to know the other young people living there and make friends.