Foster care provides children and young people with a safe and nurturing home when they cannot live with their birth families. However, not all foster care is the same. Depending on a child’s circumstances and needs, different types of fostering placements may apply.
Whether you’re considering fostering in Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire or Bedfordshire, understanding the different types of foster care will help you make an informed decision.
At Mosaic Foster Care, we specialise in different types of foster care, long-term, therapeutic fostering, and supporting children through to adulthood. However, it’s important to understand the full range of fostering options available and how each plays a role in the care system.
Long-term foster care is for children who cannot return to their birth families and are not being adopted. These placements typically last until the child reaches adulthood, offering stability and consistency.
Long-term fostering provides a child with the chance to grow up in a nurturing, stable environment. This type of care allows children to form lasting bonds, build trust and heal from past trauma.
At Mosaic, long-term fostering is our core focus. We believe every child deserves the security of a permanent home where they can thrive. Our SMILE therapeutic framework ensures foster parents receive rapid, tailored support to help children develop and flourish over the years.
Short-term fostering supports children who need temporary care for a few weeks or months while decisions are made about their long-term future. This may involve returning to their birth family, moving to long-term fostering, or adoption.
Short-term placements offer immediate stability while social workers determine the best long-term plan for the child.
Kinship fostering is used when a child can’t stay with their parents but can live with a relative, close family friend or someone they already know.
Staying with familiar people helps maintain family bonds and reduces the trauma of being placed in care. It provides a sense of continuity during a challenging time.
Emergency foster care is for children who need a safe place to stay at very short notice, often due to sudden crises like parental illness, neglect or abuse. These placements can last a few nights or longer.
Immediate, protective care can make a critical difference in a child’s life. It offers safety and stability in a moment of chaos.
Respite care offers short-term breaks to foster parents or families who care for children with special educational needs, medical conditions, or behavioural challenges.
Caring for children with complex needs can be demanding. Respite care helps foster parents recharge, ensuring they can continue providing quality care.
While Mosaic focuses on long-term fostering, we offer paid respite, which we refer to as supportive foster care and support workers to ensure you can take breaks while maintaining stability for your foster child.
Specialist therapeutic foster care is designed for children who have experienced trauma, may have mental health needs, disabilities or behavioural challenges. These children often come from backgrounds of instability, neglect or abuse and their needs are more complex and require a deeper level of care. This type of fostering typically demands specialised training, a resilient mindset and a commitment to providing therapeutic care over the long term.
Children with complex emotional and psychological needs require more than just a safe home. They need consistent, tailored interventions to help them heal, grow and ultimately thrive. Without the right support, their challenges can escalate, leading to placement breakdowns, further emotional damage and setbacks in their development. A therapeutic approach is critical to offering these children the stability and support they need to move forward.
At Mosaic, we believe rapid therapeutic support is the key to long-term fostering success. That’s why we’ve developed our unique SMILE therapeutic framework, a proactive, in-house approach to delivering tailored therapeutic care. Unlike many agencies where waiting times for therapy can stretch to weeks or even months, Mosaic ensures therapeutic interventions are available within hours of a need arising.
Our dedicated in-house therapeutic team works closely with foster parents to provide immediate strategies and hands-on support. This approach not only addresses challenges before they escalate but also helps to build trust, resilience and a sense of security for the child and the entire foster family.
We understand fostering children with complex needs requires ongoing training, so we equip our foster parents with specialised skills and continuous professional development. From understanding trauma-informed care to managing behavioural challenges, our training ensures you feel confident and prepared.
With Mosaic, you’re not just fostering; you’re part of a dedicated team committed to helping children recover, build healthy attachments and find stability and hope for the future.
Parent and child fostering supports young parents (often teenagers) and their babies. Foster parents provide guidance, helping the parent develop skills to care for their child.
This type of fostering helps young parents stay together with their children, offering them a chance to learn and grow as a family.
This type of fostering involves caring for babies or young children while the local authority determines if adoption is the right path. If adoption is approved, the foster parent transitions to adoptive parent.
Early permanence helps minimise disruption for children, ensuring they experience fewer placement changes.
Fostering is a journey filled with challenges and rewards. The agency you choose will play a critical role in your success as a foster parent. At Mosaic Foster Care, we go beyond basic support to ensure every foster parent and child has the best possible chance of thriving.
When challenges arise, time is of the essence. While many agencies leave foster parents waiting weeks or months for vital therapeutic interventions, Mosaic takes a different approach. Our in-house therapeutic team is ready to step in with tailored support, often within hours of an issue arising. This rapid response prevents small challenges from becoming bigger problems and ensures children receive the care they need when they need it most. Our SMILE therapeutic framework provides practical, hands-on interventions to help foster parents navigate emotional and behavioural challenges effectively.
Fostering isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. Children in care often have complex emotional, psychological, or behavioural needs. At Mosaic, we equip foster parents with specialised training that goes far beyond the standard requirements. From understanding trauma-informed care to learning practical de-escalation techniques and attachment-building strategies, our training ensures you feel confident and capable. Plus, we offer ongoing professional development, including workshops, reflective practice sessions and peer-to-peer support, so you’re always growing and learning.
Mosaic is dedicated to long-term fostering, helping children heal and grow in a stable environment until adulthood. We don’t believe in quick fixes or short-term placements that disrupt a child’s sense of security. Our thorough matching process ensures children are placed with foster parents who are the best possible fit for their needs. We take the time to understand your family dynamics and phase introductions carefully to build trust and confidence. This commitment to stability is key to helping children form lasting bonds and achieve their full potential.
Fostering impacts everyone in your household, not just the foster child. Mosaic recognises the importance of supporting the entire foster family, including your birth children. Our support workers and community of foster parents are always on hand to provide guidance, reassurance, and practical help. Need a break? We offer paid respite support so you can recharge, knowing your foster child is in safe hands. We’re here to make sure your whole family stays strong and resilient.
Our approach works. Mosaic’s commitment to rapid therapeutic support, specialised training, and long-term placements has resulted in success rates that exceed national averages. Our foster parents aren’t just part of an agency – they’re part of a community that values stability, resilience and long-term growth.
Choosing the right fostering agency means having a partner who truly understands the complexities of fostering and is there for you, every step of the way. At Mosaic, we’ve got your back with the support, training, and guidance you need to thrive as a foster parent.
