Teens in foster care
Most teens in foster care have had a difficult start in life. They may have experienced neglect or abuse. Some may have felt responsible for younger siblings and have taken on a more parental role, missing out on key childhood experiences. These young people need a safe, stable home where they can build their confidence and prepare for independence. In fact, 38% of young people in care are aged 10 to 15 years old, and another 27% are aged 16 or above (1), so there is a huge need for foster carers who can support teens. Could you be one of them?
Choosing to foster teenagers
There are many reasons to foster a teenager:
- Help a young person to become independent: You’ll play a vital role in getting them ready to leave care and make a strong start in life.
- Build a long-lasting relationship: By giving a young person their first stable family home. Many teenagers go on to have a lifelong bond with their foster family.
- Look after children who are often overlooked: Teens in foster care need support just as much as younger children. By choosing to foster teenagers, you can make a real difference to their lives.
Fostering a teenager – what do they need to learn from you?
Teens in foster care have different needs to younger children. They are at a pivotal point in their lives, gaining independence and becoming young adults.
You’ll play an important role in supporting them. Here are some of the things they need to learn from you:
- Support: You’ll show them that there are supportive adults ready and willing to help them transition into adulthood and they won’t be left on their own after they leave care. You’ll help them to learn life skills and, if you both agree, you can continue to look after them until they’re 21, under the Staying Put scheme (known as Continuing Care in Scotland).
- Communication: You’ll help them learn what healthy communication looks like in a family and how their feelings and needs are important to their caregivers.
- Self-care: You’ll teach them how to look after themselves and treat themselves and others with kindness and compassion, especially during difficult times like exams.
- Inspiration: You’ll encourage them to see their potential and make the most of it so they’re set up for adulthood. You’ll help them to navigate education, training and apprenticeships and advocate to make sure they get any additional educational support they need.
- Safety: You’ll teach them how to keep themselves safe. All fostered children are vulnerable but teenage foster children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation as they are taking their first steps in the world on their own. Teaching them what good friends and safe adults look like is really important.
Myths about fostering teens
It’s common to have questions about fostering young people. It’s important to remember that teenagers are vulnerable young people looking for a safe, stable home where they can thrive. Here are the most common myths we hear:
- If I become a foster parent, I’ll have to foster teens. Not at all. We take the time to discuss with you the age ranges you’d like to foster. You’ll always be given the chance to approve each individual child before agreeing to the placement. That said, we also find that many of the foster carers who come to us wanting to foster young children often go on to foster teenagers as they find it such a rewarding experience.
- I’m at risk of harm if I foster a teen. Many first-time foster carers worry that a teenager will damage their home or harm them physically. In reality, the instances of a foster teen causing harm or damage are very small. This is because we go through a thorough assessment process with you and the young person before placing them with you.
- I won’t be able to make a difference. Some prospective foster carers think that it’s too late to help a teenager to thrive but this isn’t true. Most teens in foster care have had a difficult start in life and are looking for a stable home to help them develop trust, confidence and life skills. In 2024, 98% of our young people moved from secondary education into a positive education, employment or training placement (2).
- It will be too demanding. Like fostering a child of any age, fostering teens requires patience, resilience and commitment. When you foster with us, you’ll have a wide support team around you to provide guidance. This includes training, support groups and access to specialists in areas such as education and therapy who can provide direct support to your foster teen. You’re never alone.
Different types of teen fostering
If you decide to foster teens, there are several different types of placement that you could provide:
- Long-term fostering: With this type of care, your foster teen will usually stay with you until they are old enough to leave care and live independently, though in some cases they may return to their birth family.
- Short-term fostering: This type of care could last a few days, weeks or months, depending on what the teenager needs. For example, you could provide respite care over the school holidays to allow their regular foster carers to take a break, or you could provide an emergency foster placement for a teen who needs immediate care while they wait for a longer term placement.
- Unaccompanied children: Sometimes teenagers arrive in this country without parents to support them. You’ll be supporting them with getting used to life in the UK, learning English, and navigating the asylum and citizenship processes.
- Parent and child fostering: With this type of fostering, a teenage parent and their baby or young child will be placed with you for 12 weeks to help them learn basic parenting skills. This type of fostering is particularly demanding and requires specialist skills and training, so is best suited to experienced foster carers.
- Staying Put (known as Continuing Care in Scotland): This type of care is an extension of foster care and allows a young person to stay in care until they are 21, if they are in education or training. You’ll only be able to provide Staying Put care if the teenager is already living with you when they reach 18. It’s also completely their choice if they’d like to stay with you.
When you apply to foster with us, you’ll work with your Assessing Social Worker (ASW) to decide which types of foster care you’d be best suited to provide.
Can I foster a teenager?
If you have patience, resilience and the time to commit to helping a young person thrive, you could foster a teenager. In fact, there are fewer restrictions and requirements for fostering teens than there are for fostering babies and young children.
You’ll first need to meet the minimum criteria for fostering:
If you meet these criteria our team will be able to talk to you about the next steps for becoming a foster carer, including making sure that you are ready for the role.
Take the next step to fostering
When you foster with National Fostering Group, you’re never on your own: you’ll be part of a strong fostering network with 24-hour support, local professionals on hand and locally-delivered training. Learn more about becoming a foster carer and take the next step in your fostering career.
Start your fostering journey today
1 Children looked after in England including adoptions, Gov.uk, November 2024
2 Impact Report, National Fostering Group, January to December 2024
