Our foster families live across East-Central Scotland providing high-quality full time, short break and continuing care foster placements for teenagers and young parents and their babies. 

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FAQs
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Teenagers need families too

Some young people are unable to stay at home, instead needing time and guidance from caregivers in another setting. In a number of cases, that setting is with a foster family. 

Our fostering service was founded in part due to a high number of young people over 12 who required care and a safe family environment. Over the year our foster families have walked alongside so many young people as they took those first steps towards adulthood.

If you are interested in making a difference in a young person’s life by becoming a foster carer, and have a spare bedroom get in touch! 

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Training and Support

Our trained and supported foster carers provide short or long-term care, until the young person they are looking after is ready for independence. In the right foster family, a young person can thrive and have a better start towards adulthood.   

We offer training, guidance and support every step of the way. All foster carers are matched with their own Supervising Social Worker, and on-call support and advice is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Training includes our Skills to Foster course, child protection, first-aid, health and safety and a range of trauma-informed training tailored to fostering young people and includes the opportunity to take a funded SVQ3 qualification as part of our investment in you.

Fees, Allowances and Benefits 

As a foster carer, you will receive competitive professional fees and allowances which reflect the skilled and demanding work you will be doing. The current weekly fee is £474, and the weekly allowance is £191. 

Our carers and young people also benefit from being part of the Dean and Cauvin team with access to a wide range of additional benefits including:

  • trips to our Caravan at Berwick-upon-Tweed

  • residential trips and activities

  • foster family days

  • seasonal trips

  • additional contributions for holidays, days out and short-breaks

Become A Foster Carer 

If you are interested in becoming a foster carer, call us on 0131 297 7322 or complete our online form 

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Already a carer? Transfer to us
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“The support we receive from the fostering team is excellent, they go above and beyond in supporting us and our young person”

Jane, foster parent

Where We Operate

We currently operate in Scotland within 40 miles of Edinburgh city centre, though are willing to consider supporting carers further afield.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • We provide a fee for foster carers (currently £474 per week) as well as a fostering allowance (currently £191 per week) to help with the cost of looking after a young person.

    Dean & Cauvin also provide an additional weeks allowance for birthdays and Christmas holidays, and an additional two weeks allowances for the summer holidays.

  • Yes, you can work and foster young people, however there are some things to consider. When you become a foster carer your main priority and responsibility is to the young person - ensuring that they have the physical and emotional support that they need. You will also be expected to attend meetings, be available for social worker visits, and complete training. A job with flexible hours or the ability to work remotely can make it easier.

    If you think you might struggle to combine fostering with your current job and you don’t want to leave work at the moment, short break foster caring could still be a great option for you. You could provide care for a child or young person on regular weekends or in the school holidays.

  • Both fostering and adoption provide a safe, secure and stable environment for children and young people who cannot live with their birth family. 

    Adoption means taking full legal and parental responsibility for a child. It is a life-long commitment supported by an adoption order, which is granted through a court and is permanent. 

    With fostering, there are different options. You could care for a child for one night, a few days or even several years, depending on the needs of the child and what you are able to provide. Another key difference is that when a child is fostered, legal responsibility for them stays with the local authority. 

  • How long a foster care placement will last depends on the type of care a young person needs. It could be a night, a week, a month, or years.

  • If your circumstances change and you can’t or you don’t want to be a foster carer any longer we’ll support you through the process of de-registering. If you have a young person in your care when you decide to stop fostering you’ll need to keep looking after them for up to 28 days while we find them a new home.

  • The role of social workers in fostering is to support you as a foster carer, as well as the young person in your care. The young person will also have their own supervising social worker so you’ve both got your own, different sources of support. Your social worker will be in touch regularly by phone, message and in person to make sure you’re all alright and the child is getting the care they need. They will also help with your training and development to make sure you’ve got the skills you need.

  • Yes, you will need a spare bedroom to be able to foster a young person. However, if you are thinking of moving home which will have a spare bedroom, do still get in touch.