Fostering is a way of providing a family life for children who cannot live with their own parents. Often children will return home once the issues that caused them to be in care have been resolved and that it is clear that their parents are able to look after them safely. Others may stay in long-term foster care, some may be adopted, and others will move on to live independently. In Ireland there are about 4000 Foster Carers and over 5300 children in foster care, of all ages (0-18 years of age) and from various cultural and social backgrounds. Our carers are required to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment and give children the opportunity to live their life to the full. There is about 1 in 750 people in employment that are foster carers to understand the potential uptake of this policy.

Ideas for employers - Our carers have an important role as part of the professional team around the child. A supportive employer will enable foster carers to balance their work and caring responsibilities.

Ideas for employers - Our carers have an important role as part of the professional team around the child. A supportive employer will enable foster carers to balance their work and caring responsibilities.

Anyone interested in fostering must go through a robust assessment process and intensive training before they can be approved as foster carers. Employers can support staff interested in fostering by giving them time off to attend pre-approval training which is approximately five days usually spread over a number of weeks. There are on-going training day requirements post-approval each year - up to 5 days leave for training days would be required.

Foster carers need to be able to respond to the needs of the children in their care. They are an important part of the team supporting the child and must be able to attend the regular meetings about the children they care for. Access to flexible working, swapping shifts with colleagues or similar could really help foster carers to do this. Emergency leave The unexpected happens. Providing foster carers with the same access to emergency leave as parents, and recognising fostered children as dependents, like any for any other parents, will enable foster carers to provide a stable and secure home for the children they care for.

Fostercare Ireland recognises and values the contribution that foster carers make to society and especially the lives of children in care. We understand that our employees that are foster carers require some flexibility in their working arrangements in order to meet the needs of their fostered child.

Fostercare Ireland is committed to being a ‘Foster Care Friendly Employer’ through supporting our employees that are prospective or existing foster carers (Name of Organisation ) is committed to supporting any employee who is an approved foster carer or in the fostering assessment process. We will do this, wherever possible, by creating a foster care friendly organisation that offers flexible working arrangements which respond to the needs of all foster carer employees. The process of seeking approval to become foster carers is a lengthy one and places a number of reasonable but demanding expectations upon prospective carers, particularly in relation to the training, assessment and approval process. Wherever possible we will extend the terms of this policy to prospective foster carers that have begun the formal process of seeking approval as carers.

Fostercare Ireland offers staff the opportunity to work flexibly where this is compatible with the demands of their job. Our flexible working, child placement leave (where extant), emergency time off for dependents and parental leave policies all apply to foster carers and approved kinship carers. This policy sets out the additional time off that we will offer prospective and existing foster carers and kinship carers

This policy applies to staff who: are applying to become foster carers are approved foster carers and have a child in placement (or have had a child in placement for 75% of the previous 12 months) or are an approved kinship carer and have three months or more employment service with Fostercare Ireland

Fostercare Ireland values and will support foster carers and approved kinship carers by giving paid time off in any 12 month period as follows: assessment and initial training prior to approval as a foster carer - up to three days attendance at panel for approval – one day long-term placement of a child/young person – see child placement policy (if extant, or any other policies relating to caring for dependents that may be in place, insert as appropriate) for terms and conditions Child review meetings, annual foster carer review meeting and training – up to five days. • Where you need a short absence because of fostering responsibilities, leave may be granted at the discretion of the manager; The employee’s line manager will approve the leave on a discretionary basis taking into account individual circumstances of each case and operational requirements of the business. The leave will be considered and approved on a pro rata basis. Procedure for requesting time off The request for leave should outline the reason and the amount of leave required. Where more than the maximum entitlement of fostering friendly paid leave is requested (as outlined above), the line manager and the staff member should discuss other means available e.g. annual leave, time off in lieu (if extant?). The staff member should send the request for leave for authorisation by the line manager. The line manager should forward the request to HR to be recorded appropriately