Transfer to us Home Fostering in Warwickshire Transfer to us Existing carers may currently be fostering for another agency and be considering moving to foster for Warwickshire for a number of reasons. You may feel that Warwickshire has more support and training on offer than your current agency. You may also feel that Warwickshire as a local authority offers greater stability and continuity to foster carers. We are keen to support people with all types of experience and skills to foster for us and feel that it is important to discuss circumstances individually. Even if you would just like some information, feel free to give us a call to chat through your options. You can complete the online enquiry form, or call on 0800 408 1556 and one of the team will get back to you as soon as we can. Making the decision A member of the Recruitment and Assessment team will come out to visit you in your own home and spend time with you to go through the process. Should you wish to transfer, we will talk to you about your experiences as next steps can vary based on who you are with now and your experience of fostering. We can talk to you about how our programme of support may better suit your needs and how we differ to your current agency. It will then be up to you to apply. What happens with my current agency? When you have decided to transfer, you will need to notify your agency of your intention to move to Warwickshire. We will then seek a reference from your current agency and a copy of your assessment. We will also need to go and view your files as held by any agencies you have fostered for. Unless you are transferring with a child in placement, you will need to give notice and finish fostering for your agency before you attend Warwickshire panel. References and assessment We will undertake new personal references and as much of an assessment as necessary to update your existing Form F with your experience and any changes in your life since you were last assessed. This should be faster than the original process you went through and we would try to move you through within 3-4 months. When the assessment and references are complete, you will attend Warwickshire panel as normal and undertake the induction process as any other new carer would. Transferring with a child in your care If you currently have a child in placement and would like to transfer, speak to one of the Recruitment and Assessment team to discuss the process as this may depend on the child’s Local Authority and their need for stability. It shouldn’t stop you from transferring but will need a little more exploration and getting together with the child’s Local Authority to ensure the child’s welfare is our priority. Availability As a Local Authority, we seek to use our own carers first, before contacting agencies about their carers’ availability. This means that we will always contact you as an in house carer before going to agency carers to meet the needs of the children in Warwickshire’s care. Our Placement Hub is skilled in matching and communicates using our secure email system to ensure you have the information you need. Training Warwickshire has a wide range of quality training available and we support carers to engage with this in multiple formats. Where you have already undertaken training with your current agency, we can look at the relevance and date of this. We may then be able to recognise prior learning and transfer this to your Warwickshire training record. We know this is a big decision to make but are experienced in supporting carers to move to our agency. Whatever your reason for considering a transfer to foster for Warwickshire, give us a call or enquire through the website and we will call back to discuss the best way forward for you. We appreciate your interest and look forward to supporting you to make the important decision of becoming a foster carer for Warwickshire County Council!